


Alola: The Time I Fell for a Gangster and his Band of Delinquents

by popcornpieces



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: F/M, Getting to Know Each Other, Other, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, THE SLOWEST OF BURNS i hate when stuff happens too fast lol
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2018-01-16
Packaged: 2018-10-02 13:28:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,605
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10219367
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/popcornpieces/pseuds/popcornpieces
Summary: From a young age you knew that you had wanted to follow your families footsteps and be a Pokemon Breeder....but was that all you were meant to be?In a knee jerk decision, you decide to leave and call Alola home. From there you get involved with a misfit gang of teenagers, and the man who they call "Boss".





	1. Prologue

You never thought you'd want to leave your home region. As far back as you could remember, your free time was spent exploring every cave, every town, and every route that the region boasted. When you first started traveling, it seemed as though the forests would never end, and that the oceans would never yield to sandy shores. There were untouched flower filled meadows where rains would augment the already heavenly scent of every kind of flora. You stood upon icy mountain tops, and let the chill numb you in a kind of beautiful peace. Well, maybe that wasn’t quite the case with Mt. Chimney, but that was a different kind of vacation. Either way, each experience was so unique and beautiful.

At least that's what you thought when you were a kid, just starting out on your journey. Kanto was the only world you knew, after all. It was all novel at some point. Now, that’s not to say that you had come to dislike your home. You just wish you could've had the chance to live elsewhere at some point. Sure, you and your parents had taken vacations to Johto, Sinnoh, and Hoenn during your childhood. However, you also had friends who had moved to Kalos or Unova who would write or send photos…

And you were the only one who stayed in Kanto.

When you turned 11 and got the opportunity to start challenging gyms as a Pokémon League Trainer, you decided to instead follow in your parents' footsteps and learn how to be a Pokémon Breeder. That’s not to say you disliked battles; on the contrary, you actually rather enjoy them now. You had been able to learn the basics in the Pokemon Trainer Academy you attended, so you were never without the knowledge of how to fight. However, at that age, you preferred helping eggs incubate or playing with the baby Pokémon. Battling just wasn’t

appealing to you back then. On top of that, your parents were ecstatic they could teach their only child everything they knew, and you were happy to learn.

Through the years spent learning both in school and from your parents, you found partners in three pokemon that you would own into adulthood: Primeape, Kakuna and Arbok.

They weren't the strongest Pokémon at first, but you had an instant attraction to them. Your Kakuna, then a Weedle, had just happened to crawl up to you one afternoon while you were in the front yard with your dad; you were 13 at the time. It spooked you at first, since bug Pokémon used to scare you, but she won you over in no time, and you caught her in a ball with no effort. Even with all your effort into your adult years, Weedle never grew to more than a Kakuna. You'd asked your parents as well as the local Pokemon Centers for help, to see if there was something wrong. It turns out your Kakuna was content the way she was, and you never pushed her to evolve after that.

Arbok though, she was your baby. You were 14 when you first met her, and she was the first Pokémon you had to put effort into catching. Your dad found her as an Ekans in the backyard, getting uncomfortably close to the eggs he had in a warmer. He was going to shoo it away, but you came sprinting over, brandishing a pokeball, telling him not to chase it away. After a few minutes frantically trying to catch it, the ball you threw landed her, and she was caught. You were ecstatic! Though Ekans wasn't quite as thrilled with you at first, she learned to love you as much as you loved her. You had gone through so much together, most notably her evolution into an Arbok when you were 15.

Primeape, on the other hand, was a headache to catch. You were 16 at the time and on your way to Vermillion City for a weekend trip when you were jumped in the grass by a Mankey. You'd never

seen a one before, but the way its ears twitched and how it huffed air from its nose in furious little puffs made you laugh in something akin to adoration. It was cute. Or…it was until it started attacking your legs and feet for what you assumed was trespassing in its territory. Instinctively, you pulled out Weedle, and after a few String Shots the Mankey was all wound up, barely able to wiggle in its frustration. You threw a Pokeball, not expecting much, but to your pleasant surprise, after a moment the ball stopped wobbling back and forth and clicked with a small hum. From there, Mankey was a part of your small team. He still got pissed easily, but he came to be very sweet to your family and other Pokémon (if he was in the right mood).

 

When you turned 17 your parents asked you if you’d want to work for the family business officially. You said yes, delighted that your parents gave you the opportunity. After years of study, you truly thought this was the path you were meant to take.

As five years came and went though, that initial excitement faded. You didn’t want to do classroom activities anymore. After losing interest in speaking to trainers, you decided to let your parents do more of the work. You even took a small vacation to Hoenn, hoping it could clear your mind. It was a nice visit, but it didn’t change how you were feeling about your internal struggle. You couldn’t tell if this was just a slump, or if you really were becoming disinterested in what you thought was going to be your career for life. You thought about your situation more and more. You’d become so deeply entrenched in your work over the past five years, doing what your parents did... Is that what you wanted to do for your future? Breed Pokémon? You were so excited and caught up watching your parents as a

child that you never took the time to figure out if that was what you wanted. Maybe that's why people tended not to latch onto a career choice so early in life.

 

You turned 22 a few weeks ago. As you sat on your back porch, watching the sun set past the line of trees along the horizon, you decided that it was time to leave. Your parents were handing the work just fine without you there, and you realized that you wanted to move. Thing is, you didn’t want to just go to the mainland. Kalos and Unova didn’t seem like your type of places either, judging by how your friends described it. They were too big, and the thought of living in a large city made you nervous.

You had heard about a group of islands further to the east, a paradise of beaches and old traditions. You barely knew anything about it though, since they didn’t teach much about the region in school other than the basic ecosystem and the starter Pokémon that professors gave out. There was more that you could’ve looked into, but you were more focused in learning Kanto’s agricultural and veterinary sciences at the time.

It was perfect. The excitement of going into a new place, discovering the unknown. It’d be like you were a kid again, but with a lot more money. You were paid by commission for some of the jobs you did over the years, including helping to breed for certain species in Safari Zones that had stalled. Sure, sometimes the pay was shit, but there were some huge jackpots over the years (like the Safari Zone, that was a good one). Because of your hard work, you’d been able to save up a considerable amount on your own.

When you told your parents what you were planning, they encouraged it, even if they were sad to see you go. They understood what you were feeling, and with their blessing, you

booked a flight to Alola, departing in a month. Instead of packing a ton of your belongings and burdening yourself, you decided to bring just one large backpack, enough to fit a week’s pair of clothes and miscellaneous items that you would need to care for yourself and your Pokémon. Your mom mentioned shipping the rest of your clothes and personal belongings over in boxes after you settled down, but to be honest, you were so eager to start this next chapter that you forgot to call any real estate agencies in Alola.

Oops.

You’d figure that out later and rent a hotel room on the Island. That said, you still didn't let your parents in on that goof-up.

Going to bed that night, you decided this was the right choice. A new start.

A new you.


	2. Making Friends

With a short gasp, you suddenly stir from a deep sleep. Judging from the way the "fasten seatbelts" sign suddenly illuminates, you would guess that a bump of turbulence is what woke you. After a few more moments, the jostling of the plane confirms your theory. Straightening up in your seat you rub the back of your neck, regretting having fallen asleep the way you did, without pulling the pillow out from under the seat first. Curious, you tap the screen on the back of the seat in front of you, watch the menu pop up, and check how long it will be until landing. 

 _Two hours until arrival._  

You blink your eyes hard a few times, leaning in closer to the screen.   

 _Two hours until arrival?_  

 _You slept for 12 straight hours?!_   

You lean back a bit, staring at the cabin's ceiling. _I m_ _ust've been_ _more_ _tired_ _than I thought_. You actually can't remember the last time you slept for that long. You smile a little, pleased with your position at the moment. Escaping the living hell of your monotonous life thus far, and heading into a region with some of the most beautiful sights on this side of the hemisphere. At least, that's what the brochure in the seat back pocket claimed.  

Soon though, your smile replaced itself with a grimace. It was going to be 8pm by time you got off the plane and you still didn't have a place to stay.   

You look back to the screen ahead of you, tapping until you can find information about nearby accommodations. The grimace deepens, as you find that there aren't any hotels in Hau'oli city, and the closest one is a boat ride away on a Akala Island. An audible sigh passes from your lips. As soon as the sound of it registers, you quickly snap your mouth shut, eyes darting around you in the cabin to see if you unintentionally disturbed anyone. No one seemed to notice though, for which you were thankful. As you got older, you found that attention was something you preferred to avoid as much as possible. Maybe it was just your nature?  

Glancing back to the front, you see that there's only an hour left to the trip. You squint and decide to check your dex. Before departure, you downloaded some info about the region you were going to call home for a while. Now was a better time than any to educate yourself.  

Okay, the Pokemon Centers here _did_ have rooms that trainers could temporarily use. You didn't know how much Alola had in common with the regions that were more familiar to you, but at least that was universal. You decided that a night in a Pokemon Center would be fine; it had been a while since you spent the night in one anyway.   

Shifting in the seat and leaning up against the window, you continue to read on about the area you'll be in tonight and tomorrow. Apparently, there is a salon close by to where you'll be staying, and at that thought, you're hit with a sudden wave of gratitude. Tomorrow you could (and will) go to get your hair cut; it was starting to grow longer than you liked, after all.   

With that in mind you twirl a lock between your fingers and glance out the window, seeing the lights of the island down below. Not soon after, the pilot radios the cabin, alerting passengers to put their seatbelts back on, since they would "be landing shortly." 

A new energy blossoms in you as you reposition your seat until it's upright. You look out the window with a smile. In the distance, you could see (what you assumed) were the three other islands, as well as a tall peak on an island farther away. _That's probably where the League is,_ _since_ _they're normally farther away from the rest of the city below_ _._ It was hard to make out, but you're pretty sure you spot what looks like a man-made island between them. _Perhaps_ _a shipping port_ _?_ You put the thought aside when your ears start to pop, signaling your descent.  

  

In no time, your feet are finally on solid ground. Inhaling a big breath of air, you feel a heavy weight lift from your shoulders and chest, making you grin without realizing it. The airport doesn't look crazy busy, just the average kind of foot traffic one might expect. You can already tell this place isn't a bustling metropolis like other areas, which was just perfect for you. Adjusting your backpack, you walk a little farther out to the airport terminal where a group of young men and women greeted people as they exited.   

"Alola!" They beam at you, waving their arms in front of them in an arch.   

You stop, a blank, confused look crossing your features. You don't really know what to do, so you opt to mimic them, nervous arms flailing out a little too high and far compared to their motions. One of the girls laughs and walks over to you. She's got a beautiful tan, with dark brown eyes and hair. You feel a pang of jealousy, wishing you could tan like that.   

"In Alola, this is how we say hello to each other," she demonstrates, doing the same hand waving motion. "Alola!!" She finishes with a grin.  

 _Ohh,_ you get it. You copy her, though not as awkwardly this time.   

"Alola," you say, not as excitedly but nonetheless with a smile, if only to reflect back her positive aura some. She looks up at the arrival sign to see where your flight had originated.     
  

"Ah, Kanto? Is it your first time visiting Alola on vacation?" She asks, tilting her head to the side.  Your eyes dart down out of habit, but you look back up to make eye contact.    
   
              "Yes, but I might move here," you say. "Change of scenery, you know?"   

The girl nods her head, still smiling as bright as ever.     
   
               "That's wonderful! We love travelers here; you should fit right in. Oh!" She stops herself, pointing down the terminal to the left of you. "If you follow in that direction, you can make your way out to the city."   

You hum in acknowledgement, giving her a small thanks and a wave to the rest of the people who were working with her.  

  

 It doesn't take long to get outside. You expected it to be as windy as it is, since the beach isn't that far from the airport, but after taking a deep breath of the ocean air, you pause.  You've been to the sea before, but this feels _different_. More....quintessential of what it means to be near the water.   

In just a few minutes, you happen upon the glowing red of the Pokemon Center sign. You quicken your pace, the once nice breeze starting to become a little too chilly for you. You regret not pulling out a jacket, thinking it was going to be warmer.  Pulling out your phone, you glance down at the time.  

 _9_ _:00_ _P_ _M_  

 _Thank goodness it's not too_ _late. There probably won't be too many people inside now_ _either._   

Or so you thought. As you approach the doors, you hear yelling followed by the kind of voice that only comes from people who have had a lot of experience in customer service. You can only assume that the latter is a nurse. 

Gently, you open the door and slide in, hoping not to bring much attention to yourself. There's a boy no older than 16 (you'd guess) standing in front of someone who has to be the nurse, hands firmly planted on the counter separating them. He's at least a foot taller than the modestly sized woman, dressed in a black tank and knee-length sweatpants. A white beanie covers what looks like a head of bright aqua hair.   

"The fuck do ya mean I can't heal my Pokemon here!?" The boy shouts, "I'm a trainer, just like anyone else." You can't see his face, but his body language coupled with the timbre of his voice radiates anger.    

From what you can see of the nurse's face, she seems to be oddly sympathetic.   

"I'm sorry, but the police here have told me we can't help members of Team Skull in public tourist areas, as of two days ago. Maybe if you try—" she's cut off with the boy slamming his hands down on the counter in frustration.   

"Man, c'mon! You know they ain't any other centers on this island... Fuck what they said, my Pokemon is hurtin', ma'am!" He exclaims, his tough attitude cracking a bit. "It got real messed up, my Rattata..."   

The nurse frowns and looks behind her. It seems like someone in the back office is giving her instructions, before she turns to the boy.   

"I'm sorry, there isn't anything we can do to help," she says with a doleful tone.   

The boy rips his hat off, throwing it to the ground in frustration, as the nurse flinches in response. The kid seems to pick up on that, and after a tense moment, he quickly snatches it back up. It's when he turns around and storms towards the door that you notice the black bandana covering the lower half of his face, and that he seems to be going for a skull-inspired look? He kicks over a potted plant on the way out. You swiftly step aside, letting him finish his dramatic exit. A stiff silence follows, encompassing the two or three other people in the center besides the nurse and you. Taking a small breath in, you walk up to the counter.   

"Hello! Welcome to the Pokemon Center, would you like me to heal your Pokemon?"   

"Ah, no thank you," you softly reply, surprised at how well the nurse recovered from that fight a moment ago. "But I was wondering if you had any available bunks for trainers to stay in? For the night, I mean."  

The nurse smiles, nodding her head. "Yes, we do! If you could just sign your name here," she says as she pulls out a clipboard. Today's date, as well as a few other names, adorn the page. "I'll reserve you a bed. Is there anything else I can do to help you?" Her features aren't eerily similar to the nurses from the main land regions, but you assume the baby-pink hair is standard with the uniform.   

You scribble a messy signature onto the pad (though not your real one) and hand it back to her.   

"No, not much, but I was curious..." 

Her expression is expectant, knowing what you were going to say. She speaks first. "About that fight you saw?" 

 You're surprised that she noticed you come in. You nod your head. She sighs and squeezes her right hand with the left, flicking her sight down and back to you.   

"We've had some problems with Team Skull in tourist areas recently, so the police are telling Pokemon Centers to refuse to treat their Pokemon in order to keep them away, at least temporarily. Honestly, I think it's a shame. I understand why they're asking this, but they're just kids..."   

"T-Team Skull...?" You had a million questions. _Was it another crime organization_ _like the ones_ _back home_ _?_ _Did they steal Pokemon too_ _?_ You feel a pang of anxiety hit you in the chest.   

"Oh! You don't know about them?" she asks, her brow furrowed a little. You shake your head.   

 "No, I just left the airport a half hour ago. I'm from Kanto."   

The nurse's jaw drops, and she slowly nods her head.  After a moment she recovers. 

"Ohh, I see! Well, welcome to Alola," She says, gesturing with that cute hand motion from before. "Team Skull is just a small gang in Alola. They aren't actually dangerous, just thugs. Most of them are teenage runaways, though there are some older members. So don't you worry about them! If you happen to see any, just avoid them and continue on your way!" She says it so confidently, like a mischievous gang would just walk away from an easy target.  

The anxiety in your chest dissipates, but you couldn't help but see yourself in that kid a bit. You give her a tight smile and step away from the counter.   

"Thank you so much for your help. I'm gonna go outside and see what's around that's still open," you say, turning to leave. The nurse offers a goodbye, and you take off out the door.   

  

The chilly breeze hits you full force, and you shiver, rubbing your unclothed arms and shoulders up and down. You step aside, away from the door and take your backpack off. Inside it you find a white, lightweight shrug and quickly slide it on. It was something cheap you picked up a few years ago, and the fabric is thin, but you're glad it's blocking some of the wind. Before you zip the backpack up, you notice some bottles of Super Potion that you crammed in along with some other pokemon supplies before you left.   

You recall the expression and body language of the boy from earlier, and it sends a faint pang of sympathy through you.  You eye the bottle for a moment, before grabbing it to stuff in your front pants pocket. It looked a little bulbous from the outside, but you couldn't care less.   

You zip your bag back up and sling it over your shoulder, looking around to see where that boy went. As you head down the street, you notice a trail of knocked over trash cans and paper scattered about the ground. Following that, you come up onto a beachfront. It probably looks much more lively in the daytime, but right now the moon reflects off the surface of the water, creating a serene little picture.   

On the beach to a far off end you see what you're pretty sure is the boy sitting in the sand, legs spread out and leaning back, using his arms to support him.    

Going down the small set of stairs to the sand, you approach him as quietly as possible, trying not to startle him. You're six feet away when you stop. He turns to look where the sounds of crunching sand came from, and jumps.  

 _So much for not startling him_ _..._   

"Aiye!! Yo, you can't just sneak up on a bro like that!" He shouts. You lean over and bring a finger to your lips, shushing him.   

"Hey, I'm sorry hun—but don't yell too loud, do you wanna attract a cop?" You ask in a low tone, an amused expression on your face. His eyes quickly dart to your hunched over figure and dart away, ears tinged red at the tips.   

He shifts a bit to face you, crossing his arms. "Fuck no, that'd ruin my night more than it already is." He says. "What're you doin' here anyways? Ya wanna start a fight, huh lady? Is that it? I'll kick your ass with my Ratatta." He goes to reach for the single Pokeball on his belt. You hold your hand out and point to where his hand hovers.  

"You mean the one that's low on health? Or did you mean we were gonna go and throw fisticuffs?" You retort. His tough demeanor falters a bit.    

"F-Fuck you man, s'none of ya business..." He turns away from you, "Get outta here, I don't wanna see nobody." He runs his hands over his arms like you had done just a moment ago, probably just as cold you had been, too.  

You hold back rolling your eyes. Yeah, you definitely see yourself in him. At least, you see the your from a few years ago. Recognizing now how you have to handle this boy, you stride over and squat next to him.   

"Show me your Rattata." 

He gives you an incredulous look, and huffs.   

"And why the hell should I? I don't even know you," he sneers. 

You reply with a raised brow, pulling the Super Potion from your pocket. "Because I think that nurse was being a bitch, and I don't like to see people I relate to all upset. So pull him out for me." You pause, seeing his expression change as his gaze darts between you and the potion bottle in your hand. "...Please?" You tack on as an afterthought. Truth be told, you didn't actually think the nurse was bitchy; you knew she was just following rules. However, acting like him was a good start to making him feel more comfortable around you.  

He studies you for a moment, trying to see if you're lying or not. Your expression doesn't change, and he reaches his hand back to the pokeball on his hip and releases Rattata onto the sand.     
You expected to see a large purple rat, but the Pokemon in front of you...   

"What the hell is that?" You yelp, falling backwards, "That isn't a Rattata!"   

The boy looks at you like you're a moron.  "Uh, duh? What do you think Ratattas look like?"   

You want to call bullshit, but now that you think about it, you vaguely remember reading an article about Alolan variants of Pokemon, and how they look and type differently than their normal counterparts. Color tints your cheeks as you suddenly feel embarrassed about your reaction.  

"S-Sorry, I'm not native here...I just arrived from Kanto," you stammer. _Shit,_ _I'm_ _losing_ _my_ _cool_ _in front of a 16 year old. What an ass._  

His expression softens a little; at least you think it does, since his eyes aren't as aggressive as before.  

"Oh, cool, 's fine. Kinda expected by your reaction." He starts off, then looks back to the potion bottle. "...Do y' mean it? A-About the potion?"  

You nod to him and look down at the Rattata again. It's awake but not moving much, probably because of low stamina from its last fight. No point in asking, though. You hold your hand out to the Pokemon, back side out, so it could smell you. When it doesn't bite or back away, you bring the potion closer and spray its face. The Rattata squirms a little, but its owner coos softly to help calm him down. It's a sweet gesture that brings a smile to your face as you glance between the two of them.   

He catches your eye and quickly looks away, focusing instead on his Rattata. You continue spraying down its back until the bottle empties. A moment later the rat pokemon perks up, looking up at you and lets out a string of squeaks and chirps. The sound is barely discernible from it's non-Alolan counterpart, just lower in pitch. It jumps into its owner's lap and places a paw on his chest. The boy laughs lightly and scratches its head.   

"Ey, Buddy! You feelin' good, right?"   

Your heart swells a little, happy that you could help this kid. Arceus only knows you would've loved it if there was an adult to help you in situations like this.   

"Thanks lady! Y'know, you ain't that bad. We could use more people like you—" His sentence is cut off by a loud growl coming from his stomach. His ears and the top of his nose light up red, and you laugh softly.   

"Hey, you wanna go get some food? I don't know any places around here. I'm hungry," you tell him and glance at his stomach. "And so are you."  

His brows furrow.  "You kiddin' me? I'd love to eat, but I don't got any money, lady!" The way he says it makes you frown.   

You stand from your squat and crack your back. _Jeeze, how long as it been since_ _I_ _sat like that?_ You look down at the kid and hold your hand out.   

"Then I'll pay. I'd feel guilty if I went to bed knowing you were hungry."  

He squints, not fully believing you. "Ya sure? I can really pack some food in me if I'm hungry," he says, almost like a silly threat. You grin and laugh, nodding your head.   

"I don't mind. Let's go; lead the way, kid."   

The boy grabs onto your hand and stands up, and Rattata jumps off his lap. He sends it back to its ball before hooking it back to his belt. He starts walking to the stairs leading to the street, and you follow alongside him. You're only a few buildings down from the Pokemon Center when you stop at a small restaurant that's emanating sweet smells that make your mouth water.  

  

The two of you order at the front. He picks two dishes for himself, and, after telling him that you don't know anything about the local food, he orders a "classic" for you. It only cost you ₽1,050, which wasn't too bad considering the amount of food you know you'll receive. The man at the counter tells you it'll be a few minutes, so the two of you walk over to the dining room and seat yourselves in a booth. That's when he decides to introduce you to the staple food of the restaurant as well as Alola itself.   

"So, like, malasadas. They're these fuckin' great tasting balls of fried dough and sugar. Super good, right? They're normally plain, yeah, but sometimes different shops around Alola have funky fillings and flavors. So you should totally try them," he buzzes, talking with his hands all the while. It's cute the way he explains; he seems excited... Also calmer, compared to earlier. _I guess I got him to feel comfortable enough with me_ _._ "And, like, they don't care if you have your Pokemon out. Since they can eat them too, they encourage it!"  

To punctuate his point, he releases Rattata (affectionately called Buddy, you learned) from its ball, and the Pokemon jumps up onto the table between you two. 

"That does sound great." You chuckle softly, your hand already reaching for the pokeballs on your belt. "Maybe I will..." You think about who to introduce, deciding on Arbok within a moment. You release her to the ground without a second thought. She slithers around, stretching herself out since you haven't been able to release her or any of your other Pokemon from their balls in a while. She pulls her head up and makes a clicking, hissing sound before sliding over to nuzzle her head into your shoulder. You smile at her and look back to the boy, not expecting his reaction.   

His eyes are wide, almost shocked. He stands up and slams his hands on the table (maybe this was a habit of his?) and gasps.   

"DUDE?! What is that thing, it's fucking rad!!" He's nearly shouting in his excitement. You laugh hard and wave him off.   

"Don't yell! Sit, sit... " He does as told, still glancing between Arbok and you. You go on, "From your reaction I can assume they're not native here." He nods his head in reply.   

  

A waiter is at your table a moment later, dropping off your order. The food smells sugary sweet, making your mouth water all over again. The boy grabs his plate and murmurs out a "Thanks," before removing his bandana.  

Now you can get a good look at his face. He really does seem to be about 16, just like you thought. His face is dusted in light little freckles, but they'd be imperceptible from any further away. There's also a small scar on his chin, but it looks like it healed a long time ago. You then notice that his sideburns, which were previously covered by the bandana, are growing in black, in stark contrast to his aqua dyed hair.   

He notices you staring at him, and he flushes again.  "W-What, you admiring the view?" he manages to stammer out. You laugh at his flustered state, and shake your head.   

"Nah kid, I'm probably, like, six years your senior. Sorry."  

He rolls his eyes, tearing a piece of his malasada off to hand to Buddy. "Figures. Same as the bosses."   

You chuckle and follow his lead, tearing off a small bit of food for Arbok. Judging from the clicks she makes, she must like it. As you take a bite of the treat for yourself, you understand what the kid was talking about. It was pretty good! 

Remembering your conversation from before, you pull out your dex and scan through it to find your entry on Ekans and Arbok. You hand it over for the boy to take, but he doesn't know what to do with it when you present it. You shake it a little, and he reaches out to grab it and look.     
His eyes scan over everything, swiping his finger back and forth over the screen to look at display photos. He hands it back and beams at you. 

"That's fuckin' sick! I never heard of them before. Had no reason to go to the Pokemon schools in the area, so..." He trails off. Something like disappointment flashes in his eyes, but it leaves as soon as it arrived.  

"Do you think I could have one for my team?"He asks, leaning forward a bit.   

You chuckle at his question, "What, do I look like I have a bunch of spare Ekans in my box? I don't have any now, but if there's a ranch in the region I could see about breeding one for you." You glance over to Arbok, still chewing on the chunk you gave her. "That is, if this little lady doesn't mind."   

He looks in the air for a moment, hand going to his chin.  "I'm pretty sure there's one on Akala Island. You can get there by the ferry not too far from here—WAIT! Are you serious?! You'd do that for me?!" He gapes in shock after realizing what you offered. You laugh again, absolutely living for his reactions.  

"Sure, why not? As long as you tell me your name." You bring your elbow up onto the table, balancing your chin on a hand. He doesn't say anything for a bit. Maybe you pushed him too far? If he was part of a gang, he probably wasn’t allowed to give his name that easily.   

"My name's Troy," he eventually says, to your surprise. You raise your eyebrows and smile. "But now you gotta tell me your name, too."   

That stops your thought process, and your face goes blank. You didn't want to give your real name, still unsure of whether or not you could trust people here. It seemed like a lovely place so far, but you always were one to be sort of paranoid. 

 You rack your brain to think of names, and your mind drifts to your moody Primeape. _Primeape? Prime..._  

"Primm. My name is Primm," you say. You feel like swatting yourself. _What a stupid name_ _?_ It'll work for now though. Either way, his face lights up.   

"Cool! Primm, nice. I'll remember to tell my bosses 'bout you. Let'em know there's a chick out here that's chill with Team Skull." He says with confidence, before faltering a bit. "Y-you _are_ cool with us, right? I mean, not erryone treats Team Skull members all that nice..."   

Your heart breaks when you see Troy's face. They must get shit on pretty bad around here. You have worries and questions, but your heart and mouth get ahead of you before your brain does.   

"Yeah, sure! I'm cool with you guys. Just as long as you don't fool around with me." You add on the last bit, giving him a sly grin. _Really? Was that_ _a_ _smart_ _thing_ _to do?_ He grins too, his happy mood returning quickly.  

Troy finishes off his malasada and pushes the plate aside. "Awesome! This is great, haha. I'll tell the other guys if they see you that you're chill," he says. "I think I'm gonna head out, gotta get back to my group. I bounce around the different islands a lot, so I'll see you around?"   

You nod and throw him a thumbs up. Grinning, he puts his bandana back on, then he flicks his pokeball to get Buddy back inside. After making sure he has everything, he looks back at you.   

"Hey... thanks for the food by the way. I didn't know if I was gonna eat tonight," he admits. You keep your expression calm, but that was so... depressing.   

"The pleasure's mine, Troy," you reply. He looks at his feet at the mention of his name, but soon straightens up and looks back to you. "By the way I shouldn't be telling you this but... our base is on Ula'ula Island. Po Town. If ya need a place to crash, 's open. Or, probably will be by time I talk to the boss." From the way his bandana lifts and how his eyes crinkle, you can tell he's grinning at you.    

Standing up and pushing your plate aside, you let Arbok back into her ball as well. You have no idea where Ula'ula is, but you'll learn eventually. "Sounds good to me. I don't know if I'll swing by soon. I have some business I gotta take care of first. I'll try my best though."   

The Team Skull grunt gives you a hum of acknowledgement. "Cool, see ya!" He waves, dashing out of the restaurant quicker than you expected. You follow him out, calling out to him.   

"Wait!"   

He's a few feet ahead of you, turning around at the sound of your voice. He runs back over to you, looking confused.   

You slide off the shrug you'd put on earlier and hand it to him.     
 

"Take this; it's cold out. Don't worry about giving it back, though. I have others." You tell him, putting on your warmest smile.   

Troy looks a bit stunned, looking down at the shrug and back to you. He reaches out and grabs it gently, pulling it on over him. His limbs are longer than yours, the arms coming to a 3/4th sleeve.    

"Primm you... you're nice. Thanks." He says, looking a bit embarrassed before he turns away from you. "I gotta go, I'll see you later!" And he books it, running ahead of you, taking a sharp left down another street, toward an area you haven't yet explored.   

Chuckling, you head the other direction, to the Pokemon Center. You check your phone, the time reading 12:30PM. _Yikes, has it been that long?_ You head inside, and the nurse shoots you a quick smile as you go into the common room. It was a big area filled with bunk beds, and you see some trainers already occupying them, snoring lightly. You carefully walk over to a bottom bunk at the back of the room, trying not to disturb anyone. Not bothering to take off anymore than your shoes, you slide into bed. You feel more tired than you thought you would, probably from all the talking. 

You think you made a good decision. Maybe you'd take the kid up on his offer and visit him or something. For now, you gotta find an apartment.   

But that'll be tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thankyou for reading!


	3. Making (more) Friends

When you crawled into the temporary bed in the Pokemon Center last night, you failed to notice the huge window against the back of the room, covered only by paper thin curtains. Said curtains were now pouring an obscene amount of light into the shared space. Pulling the covers over your head only worked for so long, and you eventually fling them off in defeat. With bleary eyes you sit up and swing your legs over the side of the bed. Not wanting to stand up yet you lingered at the edge of the bed, recalling last night.  

That boy was quirky, but he had his reasons. It seemed like at times he was putting a front up. Were all the members of Team Skull like that? You had a feeling they might have been, since any other "villainous" organizations you heard about seemed to act as one unit.    
But were they really "villains?" The nurse described them as a "harmless teenage gang." You chuckle to yourself. You had a hard time imagining someone like the kid you met doing brutal things like Team Rocket used to do.  

As you're thinking about last night, the dumb new name you thought of came to your mind.    
Primm, _really_? You're glad you didn't think of another one of your Pokemon for inspiration. At least it sounded _somewhat_ believable. It'd work for now. You didn't really want to give your name out willy-nilly in a new area. You were always one to be wary about opening up.    
Dragging a hand through your hair, you pull it back, rubbing your thumb and forefinger together. 

_Ugh, I need a shower._  

You stand up, holding your hands on your waist and leaning back. You hear a loud pop and grimace.  

_Yikes, I'm not that old am I?_   

Bending over you grab your backpack, zipping it open and pulling a pair of short black bike shorts and a grey tank out, along with bra and underwear. Your backpack was large, but not enough to fit bulky clothing. All of it was spandex or thin knits. You didn't mind though, since you had a feeling the weather would be better suited for your temporary fashion change than back home. Before you zipped your bag back up you also pull out your toiletries and your phone, then push the bag under the bed. You turned the screen on, your eyes nearly bulging out when you saw the time 

_2pm?! Shit, I forgot to set an alarm last night..._  

You shove your phone back into the bag and slide it under the bed, heading to the communal bathroom and showers the Center provided to Trainers. Since it was later in the day than you intended to wake up, you put the idea of apartment hunting to the side, and instead settle on traveling to Akala.  

\-- 

 

Once out of the shower room and back in the normal bathroom area, you get ready for the day. Your attempt to style your hair doesn't last long, and you give up as soon as you remember the thought from yesterday about getting it cut. The thought put you in a good mood. 

 Gazing into the mirror, you look yourself over for a final check. Your right hand drifted up to hold your cheek, then sliding down your neck, to the swell of your breast, stomach, then hip. Pulling gently on the elastic in your pants, you let it snap back to your hip, watching the split-second jiggle it gave off.  

You've gained a little weight, a month before you left probably. It wasn't _much_ though, but it was noticeable to _you_. You were pretty thin beforehand, working so much that sometimes you skipped meals. You weren't unhealthy by any means, but the activity your job entailed kept you slim. More than you actually thought, once you stopped working and kept eating the same.  

The more you gaze into the mirror though, the more you like the way you look. Shapely, not as 'twiggy' like your mom used to jokingly tease. After your gain, she used to joke that you were her little Wigglytuff. The image flashes in your head, making you laugh. 

You shake the thought, quickly gather your things up off the counter, and take them back to your bed. After packing your things away, you slip your phone between the hem of your underwear and naked hip. You don't have any pockets and don't feel like pulling your phone out your backpack all the time.  

Hoisting the backpack up on your shoulders, you head out of the Pokemon Center. You give a lazy wave and smile to the nurse on duty as you exit the building. The sun hits you, and your eyes flutter shut for a moment before carefully opening them again. Contrary to what you saw last night, the town is buzzing with activity. Natives going about their daily routines, tourists babbling to each other and pointing to different things on the streets. The sight of it all brings a goofy grin to your face, as you walk in the direction of the beach where the salon is.  

It was busier place than you thought it would be, though being a tourist spot it was understandable. The buzz was paced and relaxed compared to the”24-hr non stop” mood other places had. This was more your speed. 

 

\-- 

 

An hour later you walk out of the salon, yelling back a thanks to the stylist. You step to the side so as not to block the front door and shake your head out. Running your hands through your hair, you brush out any strays still hiding. You decided to go for a chin length bob and straight bangs, changing it up from what you normally got it chopped to. _New home new you, I guess?_ Your hair tends to curl up when it's shorter, so you expect it to gain some bounce back like when you were a kid, akin to a Tangela.  

Flipping it back into position and fixing your bangs into place, you head in the direction of the ferry that you saw from the beach last night decided that was your best mode of transportation for now.  

Walking into the building, you approach the ticket counter and buy a one-way to Akala. The hotel is your main reason for wanting to go, but the Ranch that Troy mentioned did spark your interest. You arrived at the port just in time apparently, as the ferry was going to depart in less than 10 minutes.  

You walk over to the vending machine in the corner of the building and buy a water bottle, open it and take a swig. Soon after, an announcement comes over a radio inside the building, and you line up with a handful of other people going to Akala as well. While waiting, you're vaguely aware of a few voices cussing, mumbling just loud enough over the thrum of the crowd to be heard. You glance around but find nothing. It's not really important anyway.   

 

The ferry isn't massive, but it's big enough to have a deck outside with chairs, a common area for passengers inside, and a tiny private room with a cot for people to lay down if they get seasick.  

20 minutes into the trip, most of the passengers are on the deck outside, leaving you and an elderly couple inside. It had been a while since you were on a boat like this, longer still since being on one going at such a high speed. You hold your stomach, taking small sips of water. Getting sick isn't something you often experience, and you definitely feel like shit. You down the water and toss it into a trash can close by. You stand carefully and make your way to the room with a cot, praying for it to be empty.  

Unfortunately, as you approach, you hear the voices from before, but you can't pick up on much of the conversation through the door and the ambient noises of the boat. Then the vessel hits a hard wave, and you hear a loud thump against the door. A loud string of curses follows as well as something that sounds like "stupid." Raising a brow, you slowly bring a hand to the door handle. You steel yourself and swing the door open, hoping you won't see any teenagers that snuck away from the other passengers to get frisky.  

What you see instead is a whole lot of black, pink, and teal; three teenagers looking at you like stantler in the headlights, all wearing the same uniform Troy wore. Team Skull members? What the hell were they doing here? You look at them a little more closely. The one girl among them is slender, but definitely seems to have a bit of muscle on her. One of the boys, the one on the floor, is a gangly looking kid, and the other boy is leaning against the wall. He's got a bulkier body, probably the "muscle" of the group. You look back to the one on the floor though and figure he was the source of the thud from earlier. The two of you make eye contact, and he lights up.  

"Primm?!" He flips himself over and stands up messily.  

_Troy?!_   

The two grunts who were behind him giving you wary looks immediately relax, but remain guarded.   

"Troy? What the hell are you guys doing here? And..." You push inside the room, closing the door behind you, making it more cramped than it already was. "…Why are you in here? Are you stowaways?" 

The girl looks at you, tilting her chin up and crossing her arms. Trying to intimidate you? "Why do _you_ care? Gonna tell on us or somethin'?"  

You crack a smile and chuckle, her tough act dropping a bit when she sees you laughing.  

"Hey, don't laugh! I'm talkin' to you here!" She pushes Troy out of the way which causes him get squished into the wall with an "Ooph!" She stands in front of you, glaring as menacingly as she can, given the slight height disparity between you. 

"Ah—Look, calm down," you sigh, holding your hands up. "I didn't mean to offend, but I'm not gonna rat on you. Why would I do that to my new _friends_?" You throw in that last bit to see how she reacts. Her brow furrows, and the boy in the back of the room chuckles. Troy looks like he's gonna make the bandana pop off his face with how hard you can tell he's smiling. He cuts a hand between the two of you, and mutters something to the girl. She rolls her eyes and backs off, sitting on the bed. Troy clears his throat and slips the bandana off his face. The other two kids raise their brow at that, glancing at each other.  

"I didn't expect to see you here! We're on our way back home, Sis called us in."    
_He has a sister? Family business?_ He continues, moving his hands while he talks.    
"You wanna come with us? You got the OK from the Boss and Sis, so you're cool. I mean, took a while to convince 'em but I did!" He grins after he says this. You hear the girl groan.  

"Sis didn't say she could, just the Boss! You know how she feels about strangers comin' in!"  

Troy rolls his eyes and looks back at her, "Gabby shut up, I'm tryin' not to scare her!"  

She gives him a vicious glare, "Dude don't say my fuckin' name in front of her!"  

"Don't tell me what to do, _Gabby_. It isn't like our names are a fuckin' secret or somethin'!"  

The two start to bicker. You see the kid in the corner stare at them, then over to you. He raises his brows and nudges his head over to the two fighting. _B_ _reak it up_ _,_ he seems to wordlessly articulate. You lean in beside them and snap your fingers a few times. They break their argument and look at you, a little embarrassed.  

"Shhhhh! Guys, quiet, not the place for this. But to answer your question Troy, not today." You see him falter a little. "I have to get a hotel room, not to mention our deal about that Pokemon for you," you smirk at the last part, and his mouth parts a little in shock.  

"Wait, you were deadass serious about that? Really?! Holy shit!" he exclaims nearly jumping up and down. You shoosh him again, gentler this time. He reddens, embarrassed once more.  

Gabby straightens up hearing this, pushing the boy aside again. "You were serious about that? We thought you were just saying that to get him to spill," she gestures to the quiet boy in the back. "Why would you do somethin' like that for him, isn't breeding difficult? And for fuck sake we're Team Skull! Badass thugs, ya?" She finishes by putting her hands on her hips and cocking her head.  

You hold back a grin at the corny "badass thug" comment to avoid pissing her off again. Sliding off your backpack and dropping it at your feet, you lean against the small bit of wall next to the door.  

"Look, I'll be honest with you. I'm not from around here. Back where I'm from, we had a really bad group of people who had control over the region. Team Rocket?" At mention of the criminal organization, the teenagers' expressions sour.  

"Yeah, we've heard of them." The boy in the back speaks up for the first time. "Didn't they do some fucked up stuff?" Gabby turns to look at him, surprised that he spoke, but looks back to you.  

"Mmh, yeah they did. For all of my early childhood my parents had to hide our Pokemon and keep them inside, lest some grunts come by and pinch them. My parents are breeders, so am I. So having Team Rocket around and regularly kidnapping Pokemon; it wasn't the safest thing to have them out in the field we had set up for them." You sigh at the memory. "So they were an active threat to my parents and their business. You guys...? I don't doubt you're tough, but compared the trouble we and the entire region had to go through... I'm not threatened by you."  

Gabby clenches her fists and stomps the four feet it takes to reach you and gets in your face, a lot closer this time.  

"You're not threatened by Team Skull? You don't know NOTHING, we're hard as FUCK and I'm not scared to prove that to you, you little bitc--"  

You cut her off, reaching your hand up and gripping the fabric of the bottom of her bandana, yanking it down. You notice she had her fist up ready to throw down, but she drops it. You get a good look at her face now, being this close. She has pouty lips and a little upturned nose. Not what you'd expect under the cloth, but cute. Her cheeks and ears go red; out of anger or embarrassment, you can't tell. Baring her teeth, she makes a irritated huff and lets off, turning around putting her back to you and crossing her arms. You let yourself grin after that, cracking that big attitude. The two boys look humored by what happened, but don't laugh. You shake your head and rub the back of your neck.  

"I never said I wasn't threatened by Team Skull, I am. I just haven't met any leaders yet, but so far the grunts aren't like what I've had to deal with." Glancing up you see Gabby has her head turned, listening to you. "You should be glad I'm not comparing them to you. Would you really wanna be at fault for dead and disabled Pokemon? Do you want to be marked as a felon? You know how many years you could be in the system from that?" You sigh, realizing you're getting a little too worked up.  

"Look, I don't mean to offend or anything. You are pretty tough. I know I'd be scared shitless from by you if I was your age. Okay?"  

The pink haired girl seems to have calmed down, readjusting her bandana back on her face. Troy clears his throat, and the boy in the back (you wish you knew his name) shifts his weight onto the other foot. Gabby turns to face you, crossing her arms again, though not as tight against her like before.  

"I...I get it. That doesn't sound like any shit _I_ wanna do. And neither does the boss! We just wanna get rich! Have what we never were able to get..." The last part peaks your interest. The boy in the back cuts in, clearing his throat. He pulls his bandana down, revealing a light beard growing in on his squared off chin.  

"None of us come from a real good place. All the members of Team Skull have had it rough. If you've heard any rumors, they're probably true. Some of us failed the Island Trials, some of us come from bad home situations..." You frown, upset by what he's explaining. He continues talking.  

"I'm one out of a few older members not counting the bosses, but most are only 14 to 16 years old. Alola is great and all, but they don't care about kids like us."  

"Boss does though," Troy cuts in, "And so does Sis. They don't give a fuck where we came from, what we did, or how "good we are." They took us in, and keep us safe. We don't mind doing what they ask, cause they're the only ones who give a fuck about us." He finishes, an unreadable expression on his face. You look at the other two, a similar look gracing their features.  

You're heartbroken hearing this. You couldn't even imagine what some of the kids went through. The longer you dwelled on it, the angrier you became. How could these kids be put into positions where their only option was to run away? You understood some of them probably just left to be a rebel, but it still upset you.  

"I wanna meet your Boss," you say after a moment. The three all look surprised and exchange glances with each other. "But not yet. I'm stopping off at Akala, come along. I'll rent a room for the night, and you can stay with me. Tomorrow we can head go, if you'd like." The three look even more floored after you say this. The girl lets out an amused huff.  

"What? You really think we're just gonna stay with some weird woman for the night and just _take_ you to our crib?" You shoot her a glare at the mention of "weird woman," even though you realize that your offer may have seemed like overkill. 

Troy butts in before she can get another word in. "Yo, chill Gab. If she was gonna fuck with us she woulda done it already. _I_ trust her." He shoots you a goofy smile, continuing. "Anyways if she really wanted to, we got our Pokemon by our side as protection, yea?"  

"...I don't know, I gotta call Sis before we do that," she says, scratching the side of her head, beanie shifting as she does. "How could you trust _us_? I know you don't really take us seriously, but jeeze I almost clocked you a minute ago, doesn't that worry yo—wait whadaya doing?" 

You already pulled your phone out, searching for a suitable hotel on the island. The "Hando Grand Resort" was _way_ out of your budget, even for one night. There's a place to the west of it called Paniola Town that offers a small motel, not too difficult to get to from the ferry. Nearby is the ranch Troy told you about. That was probably the best option. A few minutes later, the hotel was booked for tonight, despite Gabby's protests.  

"Whether or not you want to stay with me is up to you, but the offer is open if you decide to," you say shooting them all a smile.  

The three exchange looks again in what looks like a wordless conversation, their eyes focusing on each other. The boy in the back quickly pulls a flip phone out of his pocket and dials a number, turning away from the rest of you. It's silent for a few moments, then you see him raise his head a bit.  

"It's Chad. We're gonna be a day late, something came up."  

…. 

"No no, we good. We met up with that girl Troy kept chitchatting about last night." 

…. 

"I know, I know. She's cool though. We're gonna be coming in tomorrow." 

…. 

…. 

"Ok cool, see you then."    
 

The boy (Chad, you now know) snaps the phone shut, and turns back. "Yea, we're good."  

Troy pumps his arms up, a dumb grin on his face. "Yaaah! Sweet, we don't gotta work tonight!" You hear Gabby laugh for the first time, shaking her head.  

"Dumbass... Well I guess we're rooming with you tonight. You sure you don't mind?"  

You laugh and rub the back of your neck again. "I wouldn't just let that conversation happen and then say no. Of course."  

A moment later, you hear the boat let off its horn then there's an announcement over the radio that in 5 minutes the boat will hit land. You pick your bag back up and hang it on one shoulder, sliding your phone back into your shorts.  

"However you guys are gonna get off the boat...I'll meet you on the side of the building. Also, I don't know where the hell the Paniola Hotel is, so you're gonna have to help me find it. I'll see you in a bit!"  

You leave the room quickly, so the others have a few minutes to sneak wherever they have to go to get off, and run up to the top deck. 

 

\--- 

 

The three catch up with you not long after disembarking, back in fixed uniforms, and off the four of you go to Paniola Town. Akala Island had a totally different feel to it than Melemele Island. An authetic and down to earth tone, while Melemele seemed to put a front up in the tourist areas to seem flashy and a more stereotypical "island" vibe. At least that's how viewed it, you'd have to travel explore a bit more in-depth when you had time.  

As you approach Paniola Town, you pick up on how rural the area is, contrasting the usual advertising of the region. You stop for a moment, but the kids keep walking ahead.  

"Wait!" You call out, motioning to Troy. He looks back at you, raising a brow. "Hang out in front for a little bit, and don't cause trouble. Let me borrow your Ratatta for a little bit." His eyes shoot open, confused.  

"Huh? Whatcha want with Buddy?" He questions, still pulling the Pokeball out of his pocket and tosses him to you. _He must trust_ _me a lot_ _, handing his Pokemon off like that._ You get a pleasant feeling in your chest.  

Catching it easily, you grin and nod at him. "Trust me! He's in good hands. I'll be back!" You run off, leaving the three near the entrance of the hotel.  

You find your way to the ranch easily, remembering the route from a map you'd seen a ways back. Coming upon it, you see a girl out front. Bounding over to her, you try to catch your breath before you speak.  

"Hey! Do you guys hold Pokemon here? Like in other regions?" You pant out, not quite catching your breath like you hoped you would. The girl looks like a traditional cowgirl, her flaxen blonde hair plaited into fluffy looking braids. 

"Well sure we do! If you go inside, you can check your Pokemon in, and we'll watch them for you." She flashes a sweet smile at you, and it proves contagious, making you grin as well.  

You jog over to the small house behind her and yell back a thanks, before heading inside.  

Checking Rattata and Arbok is no issue. The two Pokemon egg groups are able to breed with each other, and an Ekans should result from it. With your luck, this one might get a special egg move. You turn them in, thanking the lady at the counter, and leave.  

Luckily, the three are where you left them, not causing any trouble. You almost feel like a babysitter, but push the thought to the back of your mind. 

"So? What's up?" Troy asks, obviously curious about his Pokemon.  

"C'mon, we'll talk about it inside. For now, let's assume in a few hours you'll have a bouncing baby egg to carry with you." You smile when his eyes light up.  

As you check in, the man at the counter gives the three kids a few nervous stares, but you convince him that they're your siblings. That you're just getting them away from Team Skull. He blindly accepts that and lets you stay, handing you room key just a moment later.  

The accommodations included a queen bed and a sofa. Making yourself at home, you drop your bag and stretch your arms above your head.  

"I'll take the couch; you guys can take the bed. Or I can see if the couch pulls out and one of you can sleep with me." You say with a strained voice, trying to stretch a knot out of your shoulder. The cramped space on the boat didn't do anything good for your joints.   

The three teens close the door behind them and spread out, taking their own spots. Gabby runs over to the bed and jumps on it face first, laying still. You hear a loud sigh escape her, and she rolls over.  

"Y'know, this is way too much. I'm still keeping my eye on you." She says, using two fingers to point first at her own eyes then to your own. You chuckle and nod. This seems to appease her.  

Chad seems to have situated himself on the end of the couch, reading a magazine that was left on the table. Meanwhile Troy was checking out the cabinets in the small kitchenette.   

"I don't think there's anything in there," You say to him.  

He lets out a small hum, then closes the door. "Eh, y'never know." He shrugs.  

You shrug along with him and walk to the couch, sitting on the other end from Chad. Pulling out your phone you go to see what time it is. You slept in way later than you intended to, but assumed it would happen. Jet lag and all. It was now almost 8pm, and you were hungry. Now that you think about it, all you had today was water. After checking your phone, you find a pizza joint just a town away. You give a humming sigh and lift your head up to talk to all of them.  

"Y'all want pizza for dinner?"  

You don't get a reply at first, but you can hear Troy and Gabby walk over to you while Chad scoots over on the couch to look at your screen. The three of them start listing toppings they like, and you let them get whatever they want on a large.  

Your first thought was to share with them, but you decide to let them split their food three ways while you order a small pepperoni and cheese pizza for yourself. You want to make sure they eat their fill, without them having to share too much. 

You place the order in, and it comes in almost no time. The four of you eat together, the sounds of eating punctuated from time to time with chatter. You ask them about things from Alola, and they ask you about things from the mainland. It was comfortable, hanging out with them like this. If you had told your mother you were hanging out and eating with a group of delinquents, you don't even know what she'd say. You smile at the thought. 

The rest of the night is filled with talking as you hang out on the bed. You all share stories and crack up at any corny jokes Troy tries to tell. 

Definitely not a bad way to end a day. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> don't worry, we'll be meeting "ya boy" soon ;^)


	4. First Encounter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SOOOOOO sorry for the delay!! i've been super busy with work and personal life stuff. hoping to jump back into this!

The piercing ring of your phone is what wakes you up, jolting you from your previously reclined position. God, your ringtone never sounded more obnoxious than it does at this moment. You shift to get out of bed, but there's weight on your legs preventing you from doing so. Looking down you see Gabby sprawled across your calves, an irritated look on her sleeping face, probably being slowly woken up by the blaring music. You're about to move her, but the ringing stops. Probably hung up the call.  

You're confused for a moment as to why she's on the bed until you look farther down on the bed, Troy huddled up towards the end. You glance to your right where you see Chad sleeping peacefully, hands on top of his belly rising up and down to his breathing. Pausing for a moment, you remember the events of last night. The group of you moved to huddle on the bed to continue talking after pizza. You probably all fell asleep there, since you had all been talking up into the early morning. Chuckling, you gently slip your legs up until your knees are under your chin, slipping out of the bed without trying to disturb them. Gabby shifts away from the movement, but stills, falling back asleep.  

Tiptoeing over to the kitchen counter where you had your phone plugged, checking to see who called you. 

 **_-!Missed Call!-_ **  

 **_Mom (1x)_ **  

 _Oh god,_ **_Mom_ ** _._  

You haven't called your parents since you arrived in Alola. That was your bad. You kind of did have a habit to forget to call them at times like this. You can remember all the weekends she got mad at you for not returning calls when you went out of town to see friends, or for commission jobs. Holding the phone in your hand you look up at the ceiling, and take a deep breath. After steeling yourself, you swipe the 'Return Call' button.  

 _Brrr... Brrr... Brrr..._  

The phone keeps ringing, and just as you were about to hang up and try again some other time, you hear the hum of background noise then your mother's voice. 

 

" _Sweetie! We've been waiting on your call, where have you been?_ " She doesn't sound angry, but her voice is raised a little more than you'd like to hear from her. You cringe a little, feeling guilty that you may have stressed her out.  

"Hahaha! ...Er, h-hey Mom..." You start off, impulsively rubbing the back of your neck. "I know, I know, I should've called sooner. I've been caught up trying to set up my place and looking at the sights, y'know?"  

" _Well, I should've known this would happen. You're always so late with your calls! One of these days we're not going to call back and turns out you've been kidnapped by Team Rocket._ " She teases you a little. You're just glad she's not too upset.  

You laugh, shaking your head lightly. "What, by the three members they have left? Not likely, Mom." Hearing her chuckle, a thought comes into your head. "Hey, how's Dad doing?"  

" _Oh! He's helping me pack some of your stuff to send off before bed! Thanks for organizing it before you left, by the way. Knowing the way you kept your room, I was dreading that most of all..._ " She laughs, in the background you can hear you Dad laughing at her comment as well. "Speaking of that! You need to give me your address already so we can ship this stuff off! It isn't all finished yet, but I want to get down to the post office and grab some shipping labels."  

The pleasant expression on your face immediately drops. Oh  _god,_  there's so much you haven't done yet. Are you sure you're actually ready to live this far from your parents? You're 22, but at times you really feel like you still need them. You're probably too dependent, but bearing the cross of a situation that you've put yourself in is the least you could do on your own. 

"About that! I have a place I'm renting, but the complex is having work done, so they're paying for the residents to stay in hotels. So for now just hold off for now? I'll give you the address when I'm 'officially' moved in, okay?"  

That was probably on the "Top 10 Worst Lies You've Ever Had to Tell" list.  _Ugh._ She doesn't speak but you can hear her breathing softly through the receiver, probably analyzing what you had said. Mom was good at picking up your fibs, most of the time. You hear a little huff on the other end.  

" _That's pretty odd, are the landlords in Alola that nice to pay for everyone hotel bills?_ "  

Shit. 

"Yeah, totally! Everyone is super nice here, I was surprised too! You wouldn've believe it Mom." You bring a hand to your mouth, nibbling on the tip of your finger out of nervousness. You're a grown-ass adult, but the thought of your Mom finding out you didn't plan better ahead of time before moving halfway across the world spooked you. Getting yelled didn't seem like the nicest thing to have thrown at you first thing in the morning.  

She's quiet again, _shit_. You don't hear much for a moment until you hear her shift the receiver into the other hand.  

" _Pretty shifty to me, but alright. Do you know how long until you get back in?_ "  

 _Oh thank Arceus. Thank you._  

"He said something like another week? So not by much. I'll try and get the address to you before I move in, but no promises." On the other end you can hear her chuckle. Turning the phone so the mic was away from your mouth you exhale through your nose, the building stress you had melting away. 

" _Okay, sounds good to me hunnie! Get back to me as soon as you can on that, okay? I hope you're liking it there_ _. E_ _veryone misses you._ " Your eyes water up a little hearing her say that, but you hold it together. 

"I miss you guys too, and..." You were going to say something else, but you stop after hearing the shifting of sheets behind you. They're probably starting to wake up. "Hey, Mom? I gotta go now. I love you guys, I'll text you pictures tonight!"  

"Oh! Okay hunnie, we'll be looking forward to those pictures in the morning. Bye bye!" You hum back at her and hang up, rubbing away the tear that formed at the corner of your eye. Even though you were happy to start a new adventure in your life, missing your family was tugging you down a bit. You shake it off, and turn around to look at the three Grunts still in bed. 

 

Three pairs of eyes are on you, making you jump. They're awake now, all sitting up in bed. Each of them has a similar situation expression on their face, though all hard to read. There was an awkward vibe in the air coming from them, though about what you didn't know. Bringing a fist to your mouth to cough, you give them a big smile to try and break the unknown tension in the room.  

"Good morning! Sorry if I woke you up. Had to make a quick call. If you guys want, there's leftover pizza in the fridge that I put away before we went to bed. We can heat that up for breakfast--" 

"Must be nice to have parents that call." Gabby cuts you off. Her voice ridged when she speaks.  

Oh. 

 _Oh._  

"I should've gone outside to take the call. Wasn't thinking. I'm sorry." You offer with a sympathetic expression. Honestly you didn't think they'd be awake, were you talking too loud? She glowers, shaking her head and waving a hand at you.  

"Nah nah, 's fine. Just talkin' out loud." She lightly taps her hands on both boys shoulders, then hops out of bed first. Stretching, she glances back over to you with a snarky grin. "Ya lied about having a place to live to your  _m_ _om_? So right now you don't got anywhere to call home?" You laugh and roll your eyes.  

"Kinda-sorta. This trip was only planned a month in advance so...there were some things I forgot. Well, big things. It's fine though. More fun that way, yeah?" Hearing the boys chuckle at that, you walk over to a small mirror that's hung up on the wall that's between the bed and bathroom and check your image. You glance at them from the mirror. "Go eat. I'm gonna get ready. Checkout is in an hour and a half. I don't wanna get in trouble, heh."  

The two boys don't make much fuss about that, probably too hungry to mind. They shuffle off the bed on after the other towards the kitchen. You can hear the fridge opening and plates rattle from the cabinet. Pizza didn't sound that great for a morning breakfast right now, so you opted to skip it and get ready for the day. 

Gabby stays with you, following as you head to the bathroom sink. You glance over at her, quirking a brow. She looks down at the ground, appearing to prepare herself for something, then looks back at you.  

"Do you got any makeup? Didn't bring any with me, and I like to keep my looks up." Indeed, you notice the standard black eye makeup and heavy liner that she had on before faded. You took note as well that the boys had on a bit of eyeshadow last night, too. Was that part of their uniform? A grin comes to your face. You could only imagine what their bosses look like...  

"Yeah! Lemme grab it from my bag," you say, already walking towards the bed to grab your bag. You grab a tan zippered pouch, your makeup bag, from within. It's so old that there are different colored smudges on it from all the makeup you've owned over the years. 

"I know you're not really supposed to share mascara and liner, but I have some stuff I haven't used in a while that's still good." You say, more to yourself than to her. "Aaand...here's eyeshadow."  

You pull out a small pot of black eyeshadow, an eyeliner pen, and an old tube of mascara that you know is still good. You also dig out a small fluffy brush for her, and she takes it all, murmuring something of a thanks.  

She walks over to what you assume is the kitchen with the boys, leaving you a moment alone with yourself, and the mirror. Picking up a brush you started to apply some eyeshadow. Maybe you'd put some effort into your looks today. After all you were going to meet their Bosses, wanted to look nice and all. You decided to use a pop of color: a matte plum. It wasn't too over the top, but enough to catch someone's eye. Finishing the look with sharp wings and a nude lip, you thought you looked pretty cute. At least, compared to the plainer self you normally go around as. The sudden thought made you self-conscious, not often thinking of yourself like that.  

 

 

In no time, the four of you were out of the hotel. You told the teens you’d be right back quickly running over to the Ranch to pick up Arbok and Buddy. As you're walking away you hear Troy whistle and give Gabby a compliment, then the sound of skin hitting skin. You glance back to see her cheeks beet-red, crossing her arms looking away. Troy is holding his arm, throwing playful insults at her. Chad just shakes his head, looking away. You snicker at the scene. Back in Kanto, your old group of friends used to act almost the same.   

 You approach the Ranch, and to your delight, there was indeed an egg waiting for you. The Ranch staff already set the egg inside of a clear protective case. A light and dark purple pattern with red and yellows speckles were all over the shell. You were delighted, and thanked the girl outside, running back to the grunts. If this wasn't going to be an Ekans, you didn't know what was gonna come out.   

Approaching the hotel entrance, you slowed your run to a light jog, stopping in front of Troy. The grunts all had their bandanas tied back on, but you could see his eyes widen considerably. He kept looking back and forth between you and the egg case, not knowing what to really say. You held the case out to him, an eager look in your eye. Cautiously he reaches out and takes hold of the case, bringing it to eye level. The other two grunts shuffle closer to him, looking at the case in awe. The quiet one, Chad, speaks first.  

"Never learned anything 'bout this pattern in school. Is this the snake Pokemon Troy was talking about?" He glances over at you, a curious look in his eye. You let out an affirmative hum, stepping a bit closer and placing a hand on top of the egg case.  

"Yep! Now, Troy, Ekans takes a bit longer to hatch than other types of Pokemon, due to... due to his serpentine body type." You were about to go into detail about egg groups and typesets but you decide to spare him on the information dump. "So, this little guy is gonna be with you for awhile. Or girl. We won't know until it hatched. Now, if you think it's too much to take care of it until it hatches, I won't be offended if you want to return him. It is a bit of a pain to take an egg on the run, but this would be a good experience for...you..."  

You stop what you're saying, looking at the boy. From the bridge of his nose and down you can't tell what's hiding, but his eyes are watered up. The other two grunts look at him, raising their brows. Troy holds the egg case higher up, pressing his forehead against the glass and looking inside.  

"Hey bud... Nice to meetcha. I hope we can be friends. I think you'll like Buddy, even if he's a rat Pokemon and you're a... well, y'know." He chuckles, pulling it away and tucking the case under his arm, the other one rubbing at his eyes. "I don't think I've gotten a present this nice since I got my first pay from Team Skull. I mean, that was a big ol' wad of cash, but this is different. Thanks, really."  

You beamed at him, laughing a little. These were the moments you really loved back home, being able to give people the companions they longed for. It felt extra special to you at this moment though, since this kid would be the only native on the island (as far as you knew) to have an Ekans, all to himself.  

"Anytime. Now!" Pulling out the Pokeball that belonged to him, you handed Buddy back over to him. He takes it, slipping it into his pocket. "Let's head to the ferry." They agree, and the group of you start walking back to the coastline. Troy is holding the egg case like a baby, the sight hilarious and endearing at the same time. The walk seems faster this time, almost reaching the ferry. Clearing your throat, you smile and pull your Pokedex out from your pocket, waving it at the kids. 

"If either of you two are interested in some non-native Pokemon, I can try and look into breeding some for you too."  

Gabby chuckles, shaking her head. "I'll think about it. I like my team how it is now, but it wouldn't hurt to look through that thing sometime." Chad nods his head and thumbing over to her. You assume that was a silent 'what she said' and slipped the Pokedex back in your pocket. You chose a pair of shorts today that (thankfully) had pockets, even if they were shorter than what you were wearing yesterday.  

As you approached the ferries building, the obvious stares and comments don't escape your eyes and ears.  

 _"Team Skull? What are_ **_they_ ** _doing here..."_  

 _"Nasty street rats."_  

 _"The police should do more about these hooligans."_  

You want to turn and yell at them; tell them they don't know what these kids have gone through. It's not your business to say anything though, if the grunts wanted to start a fight it'd be them doing it, not you. Thankfully they either don't hear the comments or let it wash off their back. As you approach the building, the group says that they do the whole 'secret stowaway' method again. You insist that you can pay the small fee for the boat ride for all of them, since Ula'ula Island is only one stop away. They shoo you away, sending you off into the building.  

 

\---- 

 

The entire boat ride took less than 30 minutes all together. This time you didn't try and find the group to huddle with them. Instead you decided to sit on the deck outside. The oceans were smoother today, so you took a chance. Once you got on land and regrouped, they told you that the hideout wasn't too far, a 20 minute walk northwest from the ferry. Halfway there, Chad pulled his flip phone out, and called someone. You assumed it was the "Sis" character you'd hear mentioned. Realizing how soon this meetup was going to happen, a pang of anxiety starts to crawl up your spine.  

 _They wouldn't set me up after all this, would they? No no, they're nice kids. Even if something does go wrong it'd be something that wasn't related to them. At least_ _I hope so_ _?_ _. They speak highly of their Boss' so that's good, right? How would I even get out of that kind of situation? More than likely there will be other grunts, and if there are they can just block exits for me to get out. Arbok and Primeape would do fine in a fight, but Kakuna is only good for last resort situations; she can't fight like the other two the way she is. Fuck,_ _fuck_ _,_ **_fuck_ ** _._  

Your melodramatic internal monologue was cut short, Chad placing a hand on your shoulder to stop you from walking right into a large, 20ft concrete wall closing... something off. You look up at him, a bit confused. As you do, you quickly become aware of the light drizzle. The entire area looked like it had a gloomy, grey overcast.  

"Stay out here for a second, we're gonna go in and make sure they're ready for you." Chad says it more like a command rather than a request, but you oblige anyways. The three of them walk towards the entrance, Troy flashing you a thumbs up before he disappears behind the wall. You're then left alone, only your thoughts.  

At least, you thought you were.  

 

"You there, girl."  

You almost choke on your breath from being startled, whipping around to meet the voice. 

He's older, at least in his late 40's, closely shaved grey hair and thick black brows. His outfit looks like something a security guard would wear off-duty, noting the flip flops. There's a weird watch on his wrist, having an indent where you could insert... something. His eyes are what catch you through: a dark crimson. You swallow thickly, anxiety getting ahead you. 

"A-Are you the Leader of Team Skull? If I'm impeding on your territory I'll gladly back off and lea--" You're cut off by a dry laugh, little to no hint of a smile on his feature.  

"No. I'm not. I just a police officer who looks after this place." He stuffs his hands in his pockets, weight shifting to one leg. "But that's not important. You're that girl one of the boys mentioned, being nice an' all. Seems to me you're trying to get into Po Town. You sure you've thought this through? Better be ready if you're thinking of going in there."  

 _"Better be ready if you're thinking of_ _going in there_ _?" What the hell was that supposed to mean?! Am I gonna get killed if I walk in_ _side_ _?_ _And a police officer? Are they so dangerous that a cop won't mess with them? Oh no..._  

Clearing your throat, you nervously shake your head. "I-I'm pretty sure. Even with what I've heard, they don't seem all that much to take seriously. At least, compared what I'm used to back home." You straighten up, realizing you were still shrunk away from him from the initial scare.  

He raises a brow, not looking that impressed with what you said.  

"You're not entirely wrong. About the  _kids_ , that is. If you go inside, you better be ready to live as Team Skull. Or ready to _take on_ Team Skull. You really think you're ready for that?"  

The dry, unblinking tone he says it in puts you further on the edge of anxiety than you thought you'd be. You close your eyes for a moment to collect yourself before speaking.  

"I am. Said I would, and going back on what I've told someone isn't my nature."  

He cocks his head up, scratching under his chin. "I guess everyone has their own reasons. I've got my reasons, too, for doing what I do. I’ll be looking forward to the outcome."  

"Thanks..." You chuckle at his response. "If it's no trouble to ask... what has Team Skull done to get such a bad reputation around here? I never asked since I didn't want to disrupt whatever trust I have with them, and the Pokemon Centers don't seem to give much info out. With how you're describing it..."  

He's still, then lets out a soft sigh. "Trashed areas around Alola to create distractions. Giving the police around here a huge headache," a ghost a of a smirk appearing when he says that. "Though the worst comes to when they steal Pokemon. To be honest, it doesn't happen as often as the people like to think, and nearly all of the time the kids can't manage to nab any. I don't like it either, but there's a reason for it."  

That last part made you frown. Stealing Pokemon?    
"Why would they do that? From what I heard, they just want to make money." He just stares at you. You can tell he's thinking, formulating words behind his eyes.  

"Like I said. They have their reasons. Though I will say: he doesn't like it when he's told to do it."  

"'When he's told to do it?' Is someone forcing their hand?"  

The stranger seems like he's going to reply, but is interrupted. He looks down and you follow his line of sight, an odd but pleasant surprise waiting at his feet. 

A small (purple? gray?) Meowth is lovingly rubbing itself up against the man's leg, obviously craving attention. He lets out an amused huff, and picks up the cat. At eye-level you see it's face structure is different than ones back home, heavier lids and curved whiskers adorn it's face, rather than the wide-eyed and pin-straight whiskers of the ones from back home. How fascinating.  

"I thought I closed the door behind me, guess not." He rubs the back of the feline Pokemon, the cat clearly enjoying it.  _Aww._  His attention is drawn away from the cat and to the gate. You see Troy sticking his head out waving and smacking the side of the wall to get your attention. Christ, so soon? You wanted to know what the man was going to say. Looking back at Troy, you hold a hand up, signaling you'll be there in a second. Troy nods and ducks behind the wall again.  You look back at the stranger, holding your hand out.  

"Primm."  

He stares at your hand for a moment, then reaches with his own and shakes. His hands are softer than what you'd imagined.  

"Nanu. Now get in there, and make that doofy kid happy and stop talking about you." A hint of a smile appears on his face. Grinning you let a soft laugh slip out.  

You run off and throw a salute to the man, before you reach the opened gates. Your legs stop stopping dead in front of the entrance once you see what the inside is like.  

 

At one point it looks like it may have been a nice private town next to the waterfront. It was completely trashed now. You take slow, tentative steps inside the property. Graffiti covered the ground in bright neon, trailing up onto small homes, windows broken and desolate. Nearly all the homes were like this. You were surprised to see a Pokémon Center inside, though that looked just as trashed as the rest of the place. Do the machines inside still work?  

As you wander further into the town, you noticed there are other grunts huddled up against the houses, sights targeted on you like a hawk. They all had different hair colors and builds. Like Chad had described to you at the hotel: most of the people you saw were young. Rebellious teens, running from whatever they had going on in their lives, or the shame they had from failing their trials (which now that you think about it, you never asked what those were) and leaving home.  

It broke your heart, now times by 1000 seeing the number of kids. There were at least 20 hanging around the outside, not to mention how many there might be inside. Looking up you see two or three hanging out on the top of a parked in the middle of the walkway.  _Ugh_. Seems like you had to take a detour. Ditching a left behind a house, you saw a hole in the shrubbery that surrounded the homes. Getting down on your hands and knees you crawled through, thankfully not getting scratched up. You stood up, brushing the dirt from your knees and forearms. From the entrance it wasn’t obvious due to the drizzle and light fog, but you came up on a massive mansion. It was two stories tall, looming over you. There weren't as many windows broken like the other homes. At the very top you saw a plank of wood connecting one room to another from the outside. You quirked your brow at this but paid it no mind after hearing someone clear their throat, getting your attention. Your sight follows the sound to the front doors, and you see the group of grunts you’ve become familiar with standing there, putting on an extra tough guise. Standing in the middle of them was…oh wow.  

A girl that looked to be around your age was between them, arms crossed. She wore baggy low rider sweats, and a crop top that crossed strings at the bottom. Her hair was bright pink, tightly weaved to her head with long twin tails at the sides held up with skull designed clips, neon yellow extensions added on. Her makeup caught you off guard, reminding you of some 'gal-girls' you had seen back home with lightly tanned skin. She was gorgeous. At least you thought so, in a “she might kill me with her stare” kind of beauty. This must’ve been  _her_. You approach the group, steadying your breath. Closer up, she really doesn’t seem like someone you want to fuck with. You shoot glance at the others beside her; their eyes looking just as tense as you feel. The woman breaks the silence.  

“So, you’re the one Troy was talking about? ...Hmph. You don't look like anything special to me.” She pops her hip to the right, unfolding her arms and holding a hand out to the side. ”I'm Plumeria. I help keep Team Skull together. I'm like a big sister to all these numbskulls. And you are?”  

“Primm. It's a pleasure to meet you, Plumeria. I’m happy we finally get to meet, I've wanted to see what your organization was like." You smile, hoping it'd break the ice. From her cold gaze, it seems to have not; this leaving you on edge again. 

"This...", she punctuates, gesturing around her. "This is a family. Not an organization." You glance to the left and right of you, noticing the other members that were against the walls are now circling around the group of you, watching.  _Oh no._ An anxious giggle slips out, realizing what kind of position you're in. Plumeria smirks. "Nervous?"  

Looking back at her, you grin. "Me? Nah, just surprised is all." Your interactions go quiet though, the only sounds being the soft murmurs and the pitter-patter of rain on the ground and roofs. Feeling uncomfortable, you break the silence. "You've met me, are we good? I'll be honest, I'm intimidated by you but..." You regret the words that come next, but you had been thinking about it since you met the other two kids. "I wouldn't mind being an outlier for you. I'm not interested in becoming a member, but having someone that these kids could trust if they get in a pinch outside of these walls... I wouldn't mind being that safe house for them." The offer you lay out is probably the stupidest thing you've said since you got here. You run it over and over again in your head.  

 _D_ _id you just offer to be an outside man for Team Skull?!_  

God damn it, this was a bad idea, why did you even suggest it?  

You clear your throat (again, damnit), and continue to speak.    
"But before this, I want to know: why do you steal pokemon?" 

When you say that you notice Troy and Gabby, what looks like physically cringing at what you said, a sad look in their eyes. That answers your inquiry: they didn't want to tell you themselves. That thought made you sympathetic of them, but still doesn't make it okay with what they were doing.  

"Well, I didn't expect that. The reason we steal Pokemon is none of your business.  Not that we're actually able to nab that many to begin with but... Maybe if you play nice you'll find out." Plumeria crosses her arms again, her brows shooting up in surprise. "But I don't trust you, not yet. I'm willing to hear your other offer out in depth away from... a situation like this. It's not up to me though."  

Oh, shit. You were so enveloped in the discussion with her you forgot she  _wasn't_  the Boss. She sure did command the air of the conversation like she was, though. She holds her hand up and swats it, calling someone over. To the right of you near Plumeria, you see a figure walking out from the crowd. He comes over to stand next to her, keeping his eyes on you. 

"You can ask him yourself."  

 

He's a tall, broad shouldered man with a mop of white hair and an oversized pair of sunglasses resting on top of his head. On him was a black sweatshirt with short sleeves, and sweat pants that were baggy as all hell, ends tucked into a bright white pair of sneakers. He had a chain similar to the grunts, but a bit larger and gold instead of silver. You catch his gaze, and hooking you. Dark circles rim the bottoms, purple eyeshadow enhancing it further, framed by thick, arched brows. His gaze was intense, almost unhinged, and a wide grin accompanied his face fittingly. He strolls up to you, stopping only a few feet away. Your sense of personal space was popped by his huge figure, compared to your smaller shouldered one. 

You're unsure of what to do, other than just stare right back at him. You're able to study his features closer at this distance. He's handsome, but not in the conventional way. An aquiline nose that looks like it's been broken before and put back into place, and watery grey eyes with deep sockets that are framed by short thick lashes. How much of it is makeup, you're unsure. Your eyes dart down to his mouth, a generous one at that. There's one perfectly chipped tooth, barely nicked on his second incisor that gives his grin a bit of charm. The rest of his face is framed by a strong oval jawline. You look back up at him, his eyes softer in appearance than when he first sauntered up.  

"Like what ya' see?" He says, low enough to only you would hear it. 

The question burns at your face and you gape at him, embarrassed that you took that long staring. You reach out and place your index and middle finger square on his chest, gently pushing him back. "L-Little too close there, bud. Are you...?"  

He takes a step away from you, thankfully letting you take in a breath of air. Having someone like that near you made it hard to breath.  

“The hated boss who beats you down and beats you down and never lets up... Yeah. Big bad Guzma is here!" He swings his arms out at his sides, letting out a hearty laugh. His grin slides into a smirk, staring you back down.  

You kind of just. Stare at him. Not really knowing what to say, or do. What the  _hell_ kind of introduction was  _that_? A grin blooms on your face, and you try as hard as you can to stomp it down. Is this guy for real? You were expecting someone like Nanu, calm and serious.  _This guy?_  He was a goofball, almost making it impossible to take him seriously. It’s getting harder to keep it together, a snort of laughter spilling out. Your eyes widen, a dumb smile breaking through. Bringing a hand up to stifle your laughing, his face is the opposite of what he was exuding just a second ago.  

 

Guzma isn't quite pissed, his body exuding frustrating, his face flustered. His brows are knit together in confusion, his grin now an open frown. You guess no one had reacted like before and you squeeze your eyes shut, trying to make the sporadic giggle-fit pass.  

"I-I'm so sorry! I'm not laughing at you, I just wasn't expecting someone as boisterous as you to be in charge. It's kind of welcoming compared to how serious everyone has been." Knowing that doesn't really help how you reacted, you hold a hand out to him. "Big Bad Guzma..." He shuts his mouth at the mention of his self-proclaimed title. "You heard it already, but I'm Primm. I wanted to tell you I appreciate the place you've given these kids. The three I met are cool, and I assume the others are as well. The fact that you and Plumeria are the only few that take kids like them in is wonderful. So... thank you. The stealing Pokemon bit is a shitty thing though, you should cut that out. "  

Feeling like you mouthed off too much your cheeks tint pink, flustered. You start to retract your hand back when he holds a fist out to you. You look at it, then at him. His expression is unclear, but there is a coy smile on his lips. You simper back and curl your hand into a fist, rapping your knuckles gently with his. He draws his hand back, slinking it into his pocket.  

"You're kinda weird girlie, but I can roll with it. You gotta prove yourself in a fight if you wanna hang with the likes of us." He steps back from you as he says this, the previously coy smile now mischievous. Turning around he walks back over to Plumeria. His phrasing of that sounded odd to you.  

"Wait, _you're_  not going to?"  

"Nope!" He shouts back, chuckling. You see his hand slip out of his pocket and make a few gestures, all of which are unreadable to you. Plumeria says something to him out of earshot, and he nods his head at her.  

The twin-tailed girl strides over to you, stopping a few feet in front. She pulls out a pokeball, tossing it up in the air and catching it, making eye-contact. Your eyes widen a bit at the situation presented to you. You really were going to battle. She shifts her body in a defensive stance, crossing her arms. The teenagers that were surrounding you before now backing away, though Guzma and the three grunts you had come to know keeping close along the sidelines. You pluck a pokeball from your belt, enlarging it.  

"If I win, you tell me what you're doing with those Pokemon, and we talk our deal over. Otherwise..." 

Plumeria smirks, pulling a pokeball out from her pocket. "Otherwise, you're one of us. Alright then, I won't go easy on you. Show me all you got!" 


	5. Fighting

The promenade in front of the mansion was devoid of sound other than the light pitter patter of rain and squeaks of shoes, kids in the crowd adjusting their stance, focused on the fight that was about to happen. The weather on this area of the island was far more damp and cool than you had anticipated. A gentle breeze was wafting down the semi-enclosed space of the private community, making you visibly shiver. Plumeria's eyes squint, a snarky smile crossing her face. 

"Scared?"  

You smile back at her.  

"Never."  

With that brief exchange you throw the ball out into the space between you two, releasing your first Pokémon. You decide to go with your lovely Arbok first, a safe bet. She's quite strong, so whatever Pokémon Plumeria pulls out you hope you won't have much issue with. Arbok slithers in a circle, gaze affixed onto the woman in front of you. Settling into an arched position, she lets out a deep hiss; she's excited.  

There's a light hum of chatter for a moment in the crowd. You assume from the foreign Pokémon that the kids haven't seen before. You catch Troy from the corner of your eye, looking at the egg in his arms; then back to your Arbok. That makes you smile wider, looking back to Plumeria.  

Plumeria straightens her posture, looking at the snake-Pokémon, then to you. She cracks her knuckles, then tosses her ball up in the air. A Golbat flutters out from the light of the ball, an easy feeling settling in your stomach. This is good! A Pokémon you recognize, you know what most move sets it'll have...hopefully.  

"Golbat! Go in and use Air Cutter!" Plumeria throws her hand out to the side, Golbat following the command with swift action. Shit! You didn't think the battle was going to start that bluntly. Arbok angles her head to the side, and you flick your hand to the right, her following your movement. After years of owning her, you've been able to train your Arbok to respond to hand commands. Your other Pokémon, not so much, but you're still trying to train them.  

Arbok takes a dive to the right as you'd commanded, rearing its head for the next command. You throw you hand up in the air, palm out to her. Using these commands should throw Plumeria off as to what you're doing, and you can tell it's working, based on her reaction to your hand gestures and fixed silence. Arbok understands this command as "Screech" and slides a few feet towards Golbat before letting out a shrill howl. Golbat falters in the air, the move hitting it dead on, but it regains its position from before, though it's flapping a bit sluggishly.  

_Was that extra effective?_ _Am I really that lucky? This_ _will be my first battle for a while, but..._ The thought is cut off by Plumeria letting out a small cuss directed at no one. She balls her fists and shouts out to her Golbat.  

"Use Confuse Ray!"  

You motion your hands to come back closer to you, but the move had already had its effect on Arbok. Her proud stance slumps a bit, and you bite your bottom lip. You hold your hand out in front of you, fingers splayed for "Acid Spray". Arbok fills up her mouth prepared to attack, but ends up sputtering the corroding liquid between her teeth and down her abdomen. You wince; her confusion settled in quickly. You know that did damage to her, but it shouldn't be anything too bad. You want to use a potion in your next turn, but know how Arbok tends to act when she's confused, lashing out at whoever tries to get close.  

Plumeria smirks, pleased her attack worked. You pursed your lips together, waiting for her next move.  

"Golbat, use Air Cutter again! Make it count!" The Pokémon follows her command, doing a dive-bomb straight for Arbok. You know she can't dodge this, wincing when the strong gusts hit her and blow back onto you. She tumbles back with a loud shriek. From the panic she lets out another "Screech" unintentionally. This effects Golbat once again, staggering its flying speed. You softly coo at Arbok, trying to get her to get back up. Weakly, she slithers up from her laying position and glances back at you.  

_Good, she doesn't seem confused anymore. Though it looks like it's defenses are down._  

You're not sure if the screech Arbok just let out counts as a turn used by you, though Plumeria does nothing in response, you assume it's still your turn. You hold your hand out palm up, then bring it into a fist.  

_Crunch._  

With surprising speed, Arbok wriggles towards Golbat and raises her head into the air, fangs puncturing into Gobat's right wing. The bat lets out a squeel, struggling against Arbok's vice grip. Plumeria winces, worry crossing her face.  

"Golbat get out of there! Use Air Cutter again!"  

Golbat tries it's best to struggle out of Arbok's grip, but nothing much happens. This is it, your open spot!! You forego hand commands this time.  

"Arbok, use Wrap!" Your snake lets go of the Golbat's wing, only to twist it up into its strong muscles and bring it to the ground, flexing its smooth body. Golbat struggles to free itself franticly, but its movements slow down until its eyes close. At this Arbok uncoils itself from the bat and carefully creeps back over to you, it's raw tummy and exhaustion making it hard to move quickly.  

Plumeria 's expression is calm as she returns Golbat back into its ball; but her eyes show that she's _fuming._  You purse your lips in sympathy, understanding how she's feeling.  

"Arbok, back into the ball." Holding the ball out, Arbok gladly stands still to be retrieved. Your hand ghosts over the other two Pokémon you have left, while Plumeria plucks the last ball from her pocket. You don't know if Kakuna is really suited for this kind of fight, so you decide on Primeape as your buddy for this second half. You release him out in front of you, and he's as pissed as ever. He stomps and punches at the ground a few times, then glances back to you. There's an uneasy moment of eye contact he holds with you, then he sniffs and looks at the Pokémon in front of him. You hadn't seen Plumeria release it.  

Now THIS was a new one. It seems like a type of lizard, maybe about as big as a Charmander or Charmeleon. The scaling and pattern down its back is in a muted red, but the rest of it is a dull black. It has solid purple eyes with thin, slit-like pupils sizing up your Primeape. You can tell they're in a staring contest, based on Primeape's irritated huffing and puffing sounds.  

"Salandit, use flame burst!" Plumeria shouts, the lizard getting into position in a snap. A large poof of flames come rushing forth at Primeape. It covers its face with its gloved hands, and you do the same in reaction to the intense heat coming off of the attack. You look back at Primeape not seeing much damage to him. You smirk, realizing this half of the battle will be a lot more enjoyable to experience. Salandit is the first brand new Pokémon you've experienced.  

 

\-- 

 

This battle was rough. The two Pokémon actually held out decently until the end. Going back and forth, each attack seeming like it was only chipping away at each opponent. The crowd was sucked into the action, whoops and hollers shouting out when Plumeria landed a strong hit, and boos when Primeape was able to hold his ground and retaliate fiercely.  

But the last Flame Burst was super effective on Primeape. He couldn’t avoid it this last time, his burns taking him over and making him faint. Plumeria’s Salandit was weak, but was able to hold its ground. 

Shit. 

_Shit._  

Having to use Kakuna was the last thing you wanted to do. The lizards' flames would tear through her in a second. But you had done some tough training with her to beef up her defensive abilities to counter that, right? Would that even help here?  

Plumeria cuts off your train of thought with a sharp laugh.  

“Hah! I guess I do win after all. Now, what size are you? So I can grab a shirt that’ll fit you—” You cut her off before she can continue.  

“Not so fast! I still have one Pokémon left…”, you shout, voice faltering at the end. Plumeria’s smug expression falters, but her eyes still burn. With a deep inhale, you pull Kakuna out from your belt and kiss the top of the dome before you release her onto the ground in front of you.  

The chitter-chatter of the group around you goes quiet when the goldenrod shell of Kakuna appears. Plumeria’s expression is mixed, unsure of what she’s looking at. Your eyes dart behind her, where you see Guzma watching the fight. His eyes are round and wide, fixed onto Kakuna.  

_Is this Pokémon not native on this island?_  

The thought of that being possible is so odd to you, seeing as Weedles are common in nearly all the other regions (and if not, at least the ones who didn’t have them naturally, knew what they were). 

But maybe this could give you the upper hand. Foregoing any hand signals for this final stretch, you start your game plan. 

“Kakuna, harden!”  

The beady cocoon gleamed for a split second, it’s shell looking brighter; tougher.  

“Salandit use Double Slap!” Plumeria calls out, the lizard following command and running up on all fours to send a barrage of slaps across Kakunas hard body. Kakuna barely reacts to this, which puts you at ease.  

“Harden!” Another gleam. Her shell should protect her against another Fire Burst to survive. With that thought, Plumeria commands her Pokémon to unleash that very attack onto Kakuna. You wince, holding your hand up to your face to block from the heat that attack gives off. Shakily you look down to where Kakuna was and count your luck stars; she’s still standing there. You can tell the attack did its damage, and she would probably fall from another hit like that. Gritting your teeth, you analyze Salandit.  

It looks exhausted, a strong breeze could probably make it faint at this point. Primeape did a number on it before he couldn’t fight anymore. Letting out a sigh, you hope this works.  

“Kakuna. Bug Bite.” You bark out the command, your anxiety from the building match getting to you.  

Normally you enjoyed a battle once in a while, but this was making your anxiety skyrocket. Getting yourself into a situation like this wasn’t uncommon, but really? On the line for being a gang member or not?? Not your brightest moment here. 

Kakuna quivers for a moment, its unearthed body rattling the shell around her. Suddenly she darts forward, using the momentum of the vibrations to propel herself towards the lizard. With its undeveloped body it latches onto the Salandit’s torso, making quick work of its skin, small nicks being dug into its skin. You don’t exactly know how this move works with her, since you made Kakuna learn it from a Move Tutor, and it normal requires a visible mouth. You don’t question it though, as you see the lizard slow down, it’s eyes heavy as it starts to fall unconscious.  

Salandit stills and Kakuna stops the attack, detaching and rolling away onto its side.  

Plumeria’s expression is incredulous. You brace yourself for some kind of outburst, but nothing comes. She only flicks her hand out, retreating Salandit back into the ball.  

“Tch…you win, I suppose. Your side of deal will be talked about later. For now, you’re cool with us.” She says with a tight expression, but you suppose that’s better than nothing. Your legs feel like jello, a massive weight being lifted off your shoulders.  

_Did that really just happen? I won?_ _Holy SHIT._  

There’s an awkward silence in the air save for a few murmurs. You imagine this might be an embarrassing moment for Team Skull, one of their Admins getting beaten by a total stranger. You walk over to where Kakuna is still laying, trying to not make this anymore awkward for the group.  

“Great job Kakuna, you were wonderful out there…” You lean down and pick her up, holding her in your arms like an infant. Your other hand almost makes it to the pokeball on your hip, when you hear a soft pop come from Kakuna. Furrowed brow, you pull her away from your chest to see a large hairline fracture going across her head and chest. Panic goes through you, checking her body over to see if there’s anything else. More pops and cracks emit from her, the fracture traveling around her entire body. From your peripherals you see Troy and Guzma run from the crowd while Plumeria hesitantly sidles up to see what’s happening.  

“What’s happening, is everything okay—”, Troy isn’t able to finish his sentence, as a piece of Kakunas’ shell drops off of her body, while a bright light shines from within.  

_Are you kidding me? Right here? RIGHT NOW?!_  

It’d taken you years of endurance training to try and make Kakuna evolve. You wanted this so bad.  

“All it took for you to evolve was a fight against a lizard?!  ** _Are you kidding me?!_** ” Voice mixed with anger and excitement. You watched as more pieces broke off, and you could see the faint silhouette of her new form inside. You hold her away from you as white translucent wings sprout out the back of her form which is so different from the one you'd always known her in. Wings, torso, then head burst from the shell. Her new sharp and shiny javelin-like stinger arms fall out last, the empty husk dropping to the ground.  

Beedrill now floats before you, its big beady eyes focused on you. Words escape you at that moment. 

 She’s beautiful.  

Foregoing any possible embarrassment you were trying to avoid, you grab ahold of Beedrill’s stingers on the thick end (stupid) and bounce up and down, excited squeals erupting from you. The thought of Beedrill not appreciating the contact didn’t cross your mind once. Though it seems like she doesn’t mind too much, almost buzzing along with your excitement.  

You calm down, a dark blush spreading across your face. The tough aura you let off during the fight was gone thanks to your actions. You clear your throat, and Beedrill hovers over to the left of you, giving you a clear view of the people who had come over.  

Plumeria has a look that graces the features of anyone who’s raised a Pokémon to adulthood: pride. But pride for you? The thought makes you want to duck your face out of sight, but you keep it together. Troy looks ecstatic, rattling off a million miles a minute: ‘So cool!’, ‘What is it?’ ‘Can I have one?’ ‘Boss’ll love this!’.  

The last comment peaks your interest, turning your attention towards the Boss himself. 

His expression is unreadable, different thoughts going across his face. You think you see the lightest tinge of pink dusted across his cheeks and ears, but you chock it up to your overwhelmed state. He clears his throat, bringing a hand up to adjust his glasses. 

“Nice battle, yo. Botha ya did great,” He grins making you raise a brow, “but we got some stuff to talk out now, yeah? Let’s head inside. Plume, go get your team fixed up. Meet us inside when you’re finished.” Guzma turns away from you both and shoves his hands inside his pockets, heading inside the mansion. The crowd parts to let him in before dispersing back to what they were doing before the battle. You look at Plumeria who looks back at you and nods, giving you a tight-lipped smile. She totally doesn’t like you still. You raise a brow at her and smile, throwing some thumbs up. She rolls her eyes and holds up a “deuces” before walking off towards the beat-up Pokémon Center.  

_I guess it does work?_  

You pull Beedrill back into her ball, turning to Troy. Gabby and Chad run up to join him, all of them looking excited.  

“That was nuts! Honestly, I didn’t think you’d beat sis, but like... I guess you’re good enough to hang with the likes of us.” Gabby comments, making you feel a bit proud of yourself. Getting a compliment from her feels oddly satisfying. Chad nods his head, staying quiet as ever, but the feeling is the same. Troy wouldn’t stop blabbing, almost dropping the egg case in his excitement. Laughing, you place a hand on his arm and get his attention.  

“Hey, hey calm down man!”, you giggle out. “We’ll talk later. For now, can you guys help me find Guzma’s office? I assume that’s where he went.” 

Gabby makes a snort at the word “office,” raising a brow.  

“I mean, uh...if you wanna call it that…yeah, we’ll take you there! Follow us.” The group of them turn and start heading towards the mansion, and you follow. The looks you’re getting from the other team members are just as intense as they were before, but there's something new there: respect.  

\-- 

You would’ve hoped his office was a simple walk up the stairs. Considering where you were, nothing was simple. Unsure of how the Pokémon Center was functioning, you decided to heal your Pokémon with potions and a Revive on the way. Using their resources after beating one of their own seemed rude.  

You had to go through a few bedrooms, up the stairs,  _outside a window and_ ** _walk across a plank of_** ** _wood_** …to make your way to where you are now: outside to what you assume is his office.  

_What a pain in the ass…_  

The kids didn’t follow you across the plank, all giving you thumbs up. The fact that they didn’t follow you plants a nervous seed in your stomach. Is he threatening alone? You could fight your way out if need be. Glancing behind you, the fall would probably break your arm if you jumped, but falling into the bush to the left would only leave you with a sprain…  

Inhaling deeply and throwing a peace sign to the kids, you open the door to whatever is on the other side. You keep your head down the entire time, turning around to close the door behind you. Facing away from the room, you take a moment to soak in the atmosphere. You can tell he’s here from the soft breathing, and the feeling of eyes staring into the back of your head.  

Picking your head up and spin around to face him, you catch a glimpse of his smug smirk. He’s perched on a… throne? He has a throne?  

You see Guzma lazily slumped in the chair, a leg bent up to support his weight from falling. Holding his head up with one hand, the other dangling between his legs. You take notice of the purple tattoos on his forearms of the Team Skull symbol. He cocks his head ever so slightly to the right. 

“You just keep sizin’ me up, don’t ya?” He ends the bold statement by cracking a grin, teeth showing through his full lips.  

“What else would you want me to look at? The bottles lined up on the shelf behind you, or the chest full of…’emeralds’?” You shove a hand in your pocket and shift your weight to your left foot, tilting your head like he did.  

The comment struck him oddly, shutting the grin down into a faltered line. He darts his eyes to the chest of ‘emeralds’, then back to you.  

“They’re Z-Crystals.”  

The sentence does nothing to spark thought in your brain, only a blink as your response to him. The phrase meant nothing to you. 

He sits up a little, crooning his head forward towards you with a raised brow. “How long have you been here again?”  

“Er…two days…”, you embarrassingly admit, “last minute trip.”  

Guzma puts his leg down and rests his elbows on his knees, leaning forward. 

“Wait— wha? And you wanna make goodie-goodie with us?” He squint his eyes, expression getting serious. “You undercover? Gotta mic on you? We really don’t need to be dealin’ with police shit. I thought Nanu was gonna take care of bull like this—” You cut him off, taking a few steps forward shaking your hands back and forth frantically, an “ahhh!” sound bubbling from your throat. The sudden movement and volume startles him, shooting up in his seat.  

“No no no no no!!! Nothing like that, I don’t even know where a police station is! Look!!” you panic and lift your shirt up revealing your belly and spin around twice, attempting to prove you don’t have a wire on. Guzma’s ears tint red watching you spin like an idiot. “No wire! Really, came here on my own accord. The few kids I met really moved me. Though I don’t like the stealing Pokémon from what I heard, I can still imagine what they've been though. Even though I can't personally relate I know people who haven't had it as well and..." 

Only then realizing you’re still holding your shirt up, following Guzma’s line of sight to your “not-at-toned-as-it-used-to-be" midsection, your eyes shoot wide. Like a flash you tug your shirt back down, face a-lit pink.  

“S-Sorry. Anyways!! They told me some stuff about your gang, and even though some of what you do isn’t my style…I still appreciate what you and Plumeria do for them. I’m offering to help have another place to stay for then in the case they can’t get back here, but I don’t feel comfortable with that not knowing what you do with the Pokémon you steal,” you shove your hands in your pockets, not really knowing what to do with the flippers you call hands at the moment.  

Guzma gives you a thoughtful look, his eyes not looking as crazy as they did on the first meeting. He lowers his head and looks down, closing his eyes. When he looks back up his expression hard. 

“…I can’t tell you. Now now at least. There’s a whole lotta shit that’s involved, some I can’t really say y’know? Unless I want this little family we got to fall apart. They ain't in any danger if that's what you're askin'." His explanation is dodgy and vague, but you can tell as much if he says anymore he’d be in deep shit. His expression says it all. 

_There’s someone else behind this._  

It doesn’t feel all put together, but the people you’ve met so far don’t seem like the worst group you’ve had to deal with. And if Troy was right, it seems their attempts aren’t often successful. You hold a balled first out to Guzma.  

“I won’t push it. At least not yet. This is probably one of the worse business deals I’ve ever made, but I’ll have a place to keep your teammates safe between islands. Deal?”  

His gaze lingers on your hand, then to your eyes. The sudden eye-contact gives you a shudder, his eyes such a bright grey. He reaches his fist out to bump, but halts midway.  

“…What’s in this for you? You good on your word? You ain’t gonna fuck us over?” He squints, the trust slipping from his eyes. 

Shit, you didn’t actually have anything in mind for this little ‘deal’ you thought up. You knew with the money you saved up and the little loan your parents gave you before leaving would be enough to rent a decently sized apartment in the region (considering real estate now days), offering the extra space didn’t bother you. Telling him,  _“Hey_ _I always feel_ _bad for the underdog_ _in the_ _tv_ _-_ _shows so I try to do what I can in life_ _”_ , doesn’t really seem like a realistic reason to give. Also calling them the “underdogs” might piss him off. 

“I...nothing. You’re right, there’s nothing in it for me. I have no idea what kind of "payback" I'd even want. I just…feel compelled to help. I don’t really care if people consider you delinquents, I had a stage like that too growing up. For now, I don't need any 'payback'. I just want the best for the kids here,” unsure of what else to say you tack on to lighten the mood, “if it helps, you and Plumeria are included in this little deal as well. I’ll need to know what kind of drinks you like so I can fill the fridge up.”  

He flashes a smile at that last comment, his making you crack a shy smile yourself. Instea of giving you another fistbump he reaches out and grabs your fist, giving it a little squeeze.  

His hands are softer than you thought they’d be, taking notice of how big and warm his hand feels around your smaller ones.   

“Deal. I was told you don’t actually  _have_  a place to stay now. Where would you move?”  

Your eyes widen a bit.  

“I was looking into Akala Island. It seems nice, not too expensive.”  

He thinks about it for a moment, then shrugs. “Sure, whatever. Not like I’m picking where you live.”  

Some pressure feels like it’s been lifted off you. Two days into your new start in life and you’ve pretty much become a side-hideout for a gang. Seeing as they’re not nearly as dangerous as Team Rocket, your worries have been sated. You’re still smacking yourself for even agreeing to something like this from Troy, but you always tended to get into goofy situations. This isn’t any different. 

Guzma stands up from his throne, the large height difference between you two quite obvious again, and he descends the three steps, standing dangerously close in front of you. You croon your head up to look at him, praying the anxious look you’re trying to hold in isn’t cracking out. You were never good with people being this close to you that weren’t your close family or friends. Or unconventionally attractive people. Not that you don’t have experience with regular attractive people but you're not saying he ISN'T attractive it's just a different kind of attractive a unique looking—  

_What the hell am I thinking? C’mon, you’re just getting off track cause he’s_ _too_ _close…_  

“This ‘s the third time, Primm”, he grins. You let out a soft huff and step back. He shakes his head and let’s out of soft chuckle. “So now that’s taken care of…where are you off to now?”  

The thought hadn’t crossed your mind, making you raise your brows.  

“Ah…I was probably going to meet back up with Plumeria to talk. Why?”  

His eyes shift to the ground, then to the belt on your hip where your Pokémon are.  

“The wasp…what was that?” His question is spoken gently, more than you expected from him. You glance down at your belt, and pluck Beedrill off.  

“Oh. What you first saw was Kakuna, it’s second stage. She’s been like that since I was a teenager. Of course, she decided to evolve at a time like this”, you chuckle, “even in her cocoon state she was a diva. Now she's a Beedrill. I guess they’re not native at all here?” He shakes his head, answering the question you already knew. You sigh and pull out your Dex and flipping to Weedle and the relating articles. You turn it around in your hand and offer it out to Guzma. He takes it and scrolls, skimming through the paragraph information and more interested in the photos.  

“...Do you like bug Pokemon?” He murmurs while still scrolling. The question peaks your interest and clicks something in your head. His intense stare on Kakuna earlier made you curious. 

“I used to be afraid of them as a kid, but I’ve grow to love them as much as any other. Do you own mostly bug-type?” His eyes flicker up to meet yours.  

“Yeah, you could say that.” His answer is cut and dry. Guzma hands back the Dex, noticing on the screen he took a peek at some other bug-type that aren’t from Alola.  

_Yep, defiantly a_ _bug-type user. He doesn’t peg me as one_ _though_ _. Then_ _again_ _,_ _I’m used to kids and 20-somethings swinging bug nets around so..._  

Slipping pokeball back into your belt, you smile sweetly at him. “I’ll show her to you sometimes after she’s well rested. Maybe I can pull some I have back in my box from home out as well. It’d be educational for the kids too.”  

Guzma parts his lips to speak but closes them. He breaks eye-contact, stuffing his hands in his pockets. You might have flustered him, but you wouldn’t know first glance from the faux tough look he puts on.  

“Sure. I mean, if you get the time to between apartment hunting.”  

You giggle, shaking your head, “Of course.”  

He straightens his back for a moment, a thought coming to him. He digs through his back pocket pulling out a basic smartphone, handing it to you.  

“Plug your number in here, incase I need it.” The request tinges your cheeks, even though it had no intention of what your brain was coming up with.  

“Y-Yeah!! Okay yeah. As long as you pass it down to Plumeria and whoever else you think would need it. Y’know, for the drinks.” You punch in your number and ‘name’ into the contacts menu, shooting yourself a text with the phone before handing it back. “Here, I’ll save your number too.”  

Guzma smirks looking down at the phone, then you. He balances his weight on one foot, a hand still in his pocket.  

“I’ll do that. You gonna go now?”  

You hum, placing your hand on the back of your neck, looking up at him.  

“I guess so, I can’t think of much else to do here at the moment. I won't bother Plumeria now, so I’m probably gonna head back to Akala and check out a complex I saw. They should still be accepting inquiries now…”  

He raises a brow and angles his body more towards you. “I mean, you could just stay here for the night. I imagine you wouldn’t mind since you'd be having some of the people here in your place once in a while.” 

Laughing and close your eyes you shake your head softy at his offer. You open your eyes to a disappointed face that immediately vanishes. You quirk a brow, smile still intact.  

“I appreciate it, but I’m alright for now. I really do need an address to call my own, I want my stuff through the mail!” Chuckling you take a step away and head towards the door. “Thank you Guzma. I hope we can make this work; I sure as hell do. See you later!”  

“Later, Primm.” Your assigned name rolls off his tongue slowly and carefully, making the hair stand up on the back of your neck. You flash a peace sign and duck out of the room, closing it behind you. 

Letting out a huge breath you didn’t realize you were holding in, you fall into a squatting position.  

_Yikes_ _that started out stre_ _ssful. At least it chilled out at the end. He seems nice. Not what I expected one-on-one though. He seemed to act_ _wilder_ _around his grunts_ _for show._ _.._  

You stood back up and made your way through the maze of a mansion to the outside, giving a short goodbye to Troy and the other two before you left. You decide you’ll catch up to Plumeria later, leaving her to tend to her Pokémon.  

It doesn’t take you long to get back to the ferry, buying a ticket back to Akala Island. You really wanted to get it together and rent a place. Even if the place you had in mind was full, they could suggest another area to stay. While boarding and finding a seat on the deck, the events of the early day run through your head.  

“I can’t believe I won...”, you quietly say to yourself, a smile crossing your face. A stray thought comes to you, something you forgot to tell Guzma. You pull your phone out and type a short message out, then shutting the screen and placing it on your lap. You let the thoughts of the day drift away for now, enjoying the ocean breeze run through your hair, and relax for the rest of your trip back. 

 

\-- 

 

Guzma looks at where you were previously standing a moment before, letting the quiet of the room settle other than the pitter-patter of the rain on the windows. He takes a few steps over to his bed and flops down onto it face first, unmoving.  

Suddenly fists flying, only one pair though. Guzma beats the hell out of the beds old mattress, letting his frustration out.  

“Guzma what is  **wrong**  with you?!You acted like a fucking teenager, you could've blown it!!”He smacks the sides of his head in frustration, letting out a big sigh. Flipping over on his back he rests his hands behind his head. He didn't think you would win. Actually, not many of grunts did either after hearing Troy blab about you. Most had just thought he had a crush and was trying to get a girl he liked into the gang, especially Plumeria. Seeing you in person though... 

_"_ _Kinda_ _makes me wish she did lose..."_ He thinks to himself, rolling his eyes at the invaded thought. 

He could tell Plumes wasn't as angry as she was letting on after the battle, though it did bruise her pride. Losing in front of the others never feels that great. Guzma grimaces as he remembers the battle that happened not that long ago, in Mali Garden. Little punk kid, and that stupid Kukui's smug smile. Looking down on him. He'd show 'em... 

Staring up at the ceiling, the low hum of his phone goes off underneath him, his thoughts cut off. Reaching a hand under his back he pulls his phone out, flicking on the screen. 

**_!*_ ** **_1 New Message*!_ **  

**_Primm:_**   _If the kids come over, they can't wear anything that has the Team Skull logo on it_ _. That might make the other tenants upset._ _Make that clear to them, or I might not be able to let them in_ _._    
_Have a good day!_  

Guzma breaths out a soft laugh, replying back.  

_OK got it_  

He throws the phone down on the bed beside him and sits up, hoping he sees you again. To show him bug-Pokémon though, not to _see you_. 

Defiantly not to see you. 

Right...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! sorry if the battle reads weird, it's my first time writing a battle. i didn't want to make it feel too ridged but not so loose you didn't know what was happening. i also feel like i gotta practice writing guzma more, but i see him not acting out as much when he's not in front of people he's gotta impress. (you kinda trampled on that by laughing at his tough act outside last chapter so lol...)  
> sorry for any mistakes!  
> let me know if you're liking it! anything else you might wanna see, or know about?


	6. Dreams

Two weeks had passed since the encounter with Team Skull at their hideout. The afternoon you came back, you immediately went to Heahea City. There was a small real estate agency tucked away in between some of the shops. You study the area before when you were with the three grunts, the architecture reminding you of sights back home. You previously thought you were only going to be able to afford a small apartment with basic amenities. Far from it; renting out a home here was four times cheaper than back home. Your eyes almost bulged out of your head when the nice lady at the agency was showing different properties. Thinking back on it, your parents had to pay way more money than this for your childhood home.  

You stayed in a Pokémon Center again for the night, the next day going out and deciding to rent out the home she had shown you the previous day. After all the paperwork was signed and financials taken care of, you were finally able to call a place home. It wasn't big, but comfortable enough to where you could let your Pokémon roam inside. There was a small backyard attached to the property as well. It'd be nice to get a garden going again.  

Calling mom and being able to tell her the address was a weight off your shoulders, finally being able to have your things with you. She said she had a few more items thrown in with your own, what they were she didn't say and just, "You'll see!". What ended up being in there was a single egg incubator, some tools and guides that were a necessity to Pokémon breeding, and your family's uniform.  

You were a bit confused, were they trying to hint they wanted you to try setting up a branch-business in Alola? You questioned them about it, only saying they didn't know if you were interested in the local Pokémon and didn't want you to have to run over half-way across the island (you mentioned the other in Panolia Town) to do so. You believed them, but sending the uniform still made you think otherwise in the back of your mind. You set the incubator and other items in the corner of the living room, closest to the front window.  

After another week of unpacking all the items they sent  _six boxes worth of personal items was_ _kinda_ _overkill guys I didn't have much in my room to begin with..._ , it was finished. Thankfully the last tenants left some of their furniture here: a dining room table and four chairs, couch, a few lamps and bed-frame. You were worried about sleeping on the bed that was in the house already, but was assured that came with the housing deal, being provided with the contract. Anything else could be bought at a later date: it was livable.  

\-- 

It had been a few hours since you woke up, deciding to start the morning routine you'd do at home—sans the breeding chores you had to do. Take the Pokémon out on a walk for exercise. Though since you didn't really know your way around this area yet, the backyard worked just as well. You'd explore the islands better once you actually got properly settled in. For now, the change of scenery was all you needed.  

Primeape and Arbok decided to have a mock-fight. It looked more like a game of chicken between the two, "who-can-dodge-the-other-before-getting-hit". Beedrill decided to hover along next to you while you walked along the backyard fences. You noticed she wanted to be a lot closer to you than what average behaviors were in Beedrill, later assuming it was because of how close you had to have her next to you as a Kakuna. It was kind of sweet, though you would have to get used to the long stingers being near your face... 

After Primeape and Arbok got tired out from play fighting you called them inside and started breakfast for everyone. For Primeape you decided chopped Payapa berries, almonds, and honey blended would be a good breakfast for him. The fruit put him at ease for the few moments he spent eating it, maybe it's his favorite? Arbok would get three raw eggs, and some frozen rodent parts. You had to alter the diet you were used to giving Beedrill before. You've found out what she's like through trial and error, her settling on sugar-water and various different bug larva, blended together as her preferred meal. With other Pokémon you've raised doing your previous job, you've had to create some more vulgar meals before, this not nearly as bad.  

Setting their bowls up on the dining room table, you went back and made yourself a quick PB&J, not really wanting to get fancy after the other meals you made. Taking a bite out of it you grabbed a notepad and pen on the way back to the table and sat down, scratching down a shopping list of some things you hadn't gotten for the house yet.  

First-Aid kits, that sounds good. You didn't have one for the house, and if any of the grunts came by roughed up for any reason it'd be nice to have around. Junk food? You didn't eat a lot of snacks like that, but that might be nice to have around for them. Ice cream came to mind as well, scribbling that down as well.  

Your mind strayed from the task at hand. Idle, random thoughts started to drift across. Why did you even offer to do this? It was in your nature to make decisions that would normally be thought about long and hard by any normal person, you on a whim. Though it wouldn't often involve decisions that could have some sort of (serious) repercussions. You keep saying it's because you wanted to offer help however you could, for the kids. Which wasn't untrue! That's 99% of the reason you're even doing it.  

Though that 1%…you really did want to meet who was in charge.  

The stories the three had told you intrigued you. From what they could explain that night in the hotel, these things called "island trials" left a lot of kids upset from not completing it. Some ran away from shame, others as an excuse to get out of the situation they were in already. You were going to look into it more. It seems there aren't "Pokemon Gyms" here, and the island tradition was a bigger deal to the kids who decided to partake in it compared to what you knew back home. If a kid decided to stop after failing a few times, there (normally) wasn't any stress related to it. Here though...   
You didn't want to assume, but with the stories you were told it seems a lot of kids that are in Team Skull have some sort of history with the trials. You wondered if he did too.  

The image of his smirk flashed into your head. Looking down at the notepad makes your face heat up and toss the pen away, making Arbok glance up at you from the table. Crude, lazy doodles of said man were dotted around the bottom of the page. You'd done it not really concentrating on it, which made you feel more embarrassed. You nudged the notepad away, not wanting to dwell on the little bud of a taboo thought forming in your head about him. 

Standing up from the table you notice all three of you Pokémon had finished their breakfast and gone off to do their own thing. Thankfully no big messes this time. Scooping up the empty bowls, you bring them to the kitchen skin and start to clean them, not wanting anything to stick.  

While you were scrubbing your thoughts floated back to the gang. You had sent out your address to Guzma, telling him to send it to whoever else he thinks would need it. Not that you got much of a reply back: “ _OK cool”_. Other than that, no calls. No visitors. The only person you’ve talked to since you moved in were your parents and a friend or two from back home.  

You were wondering if the offering was even worth it when you heard a knock at the door.  

You turn the water off and dry your hands shouting a “coming!”, lightly jogging over and opening it.  

You immediately recognized them as Troy and Gabby, though looking far different than you’re used to. Neither of them have any makeup on, nor wearing anything Team Skull related. If it wasn’t for knowing them personally you’d just thought they were some alternative-punk kids. You smile and open the door a bit wider, inviting them in. They gladly took the offer and strolled in. 

“Yo Primm, wassup? Sorry we haven’t dropped by, we had some stuff that was keepin’ us busy,” Troy explained. You waved it off, chuckling.  

“Nah it’s fine, work keeping you busy Hope you haven’t had to crack any heads while you were out, hehe…” You chuckle, joking with them. “You guys want anything to drink?”, you ask, walking over to the kitchen.  

Gabby follows, taking a look around the living room as she does. “Yea sure, water is cool for now. Nice place y’ got here. I thought you were getting’ a apartment?”, she questions, taking the glass of water you had just filled and taking a sip.  

“Ah, yeah. Me too,” you chuckled, “but rent was cheaper than I thought in these parts. So I thought, why not?” Gabby nods gaze rolling across the room. Her eyes land on a few pictures you set up on the wall opposite to the kitchen, walking up to look. Troy had come up and joined her. Your curiosity peaked and walked over. “Looking at my past? I didn’t feel like putting them all up now, but my mom sent me a few to “bring some of Kanto to Alola” as she said.” 

The two teens continue to look, different expressions fleeting in their eyes over each picture. Gabby points to a photo of a kid around 10 standing with an older man in a lab coat, smiling and posing for a picture with a Bulbasaur. The kid having all their front baby teeth knocked out. “Who are these two? Neither of them look anything like you.” Troy nods in agreement. You laugh and shake your head.  

“That kid  _is_  me. I just looked a lot different,” you laugh, the two teens giving you an incredulous look. You really did look nothing like you do now as a child, puberty hit you like a train.  

“And that man is Professor Oak. My parents worked with him sometimes, he was like a cool uncle to me; taught me a lot about Pokémon. This is when he brought over a Bulbasaur. I had gotten so excited to see one I scared it; knocking out all four of my front baby teeth,” the memory makes you pause and smile. “Mom freaked out but it turned out okay. You ever see one of these around here?” You ask referring to the grass-Pokémon in the picture.  

Troy cracks up from the story, scratching the side of his head. “Ahah!! Aw man I’d be so pissed if that happened to me. And I think so? ‘s not really common but I’ve heard of people catching some.” He points to another picture, one of you and Arbok and Primeape when they were Ekans and Mankey. “Aww, cute. How old were you here?” Gabby lightly elbows him for the comment, him raising a brow at her.  

“Probably around your age, 15 or 16? Primeape  _really_ didn’t like me then, but we were able to calm him down with berries to get this picture. He grabbed onto my hair and wouldn’t let go for 10 minutes after this was taken though.” The memory makes you laugh, the teens laughing with you.  

“Who’s this one?” Gabby points to the one below it. Your laugh quiets, resting your eyes on it.  A bittersweet picture, a self-styled picture with you and an old friend of yours.  

“Ah, Emile. He’s an old friend of mine. He ran away from home when he was 16. He had a rough home situation, though he never let any of us know much. He took off, don’t know where he went. Local authorities searched for a few months until it went cold. If we just knew before…” The two are looking at you now. A calm, melancholy look is in your eyes as you look at it. You take notice and look back at them, quickly erasing the expression. 

“It’s okay though. Things happen that we can’t control. It hurt, but we can’t dwell on things too long; or else it holds us back. You know?” The two nod, Troy frowning.  

“That why you came up t’ me on the beach…? Did I remind you of him? “You don’t reply, only nodding your head.  

“Kind of. I just always regret not being able to do something before things got really bad. I wanted to make that happen.” You explain, a little embarrassed letting them know these kinds of things.  

Gabby claps a hand on your back, making you jump. You look over to her and she grins. “Enough of the waterworks. Got any chips?” 

 

\-- 

 

The three of you were out in the backyard, sitting on the small porch. All of your Pokémon were hanging out together playing around. Troy’s Ekans had hatched, which he nicknamed ‘Snoot’. You asked him how he comes up with the nicknames. Apparently he just names them the first thing he thinks of when he sees them, which you think is adorable. Buddy his Rattata was up near the three of you, nervous of the two snakes in the yard.  

Gabby also had her Pokémon out which you had never seen before, which turned out to be Haunter. He was friendly for a ghost Pokémon, but something about the eyes set you off. She didn’t nickname him, not really thinking about names when she caught him. Haunter and was floating along with Beedrill, moving around almost as if they were having a conversation. The imagery made you smile.  

Gabby stood up and stretched, announcing she was getting a drink. She walked back into the house, leaving you and Troy alone together. He breaks the short silence.  

“Hey uh, so…how long do you plan on staying here?” He turns his head to look at you, a neutral expression on his face. You raise your brows at his question.  

“Well…I guess as long as I want? I’m not restricted by anything. If anything I might go back to Kanto for holidays, but even then I think my parents would want to come here for that. Why?”  

Troy looks down at the ground,  a thought formulating. He sighs and looks up. “I just don’t want another new friend leaving us.”  

His statement makes you sadly smile. You reach over and place your hand gently over his that’s supporting him on the porch. He glances down then back to you.  

“Don’t sweat it. If I’m going anywhere permanently I’ll let you know. For now…I’m not going anywhere.” The statement eases his thoughts his face lighting up immediately. You smile back and take your hand off his, reaching over and ruffling his short teal hair. “You gotta dye your sideburns man, the black against the teal look weird.”  

He pouts and playfully smacks your hand away. “Hell naw, this shit is tight! It’s the closest I can get to the boss’ look man.” The attempted resemblance makes you laugh, covering your mouth with a hand. He pushes your shoulder, laughing along with you.  

 

\--- 

 

The pink haired teen is standing in front of your fridge, deciding if she wants to be good and get water, or pinch a soda. She squints at the soda and grabs it, swinging the door closed. She cracks it open and takes a small sip, sauntering over to your dining room table to look at the other side of the living room they didn’t focus on earlier. She notices the tiny hallway down to your bedrooms, looking behind her before she goes over to snoop.  

There are two bedrooms down the hall, three rooms. One on the right and straight ahead look like bedrooms. She cracks the door on the left, noting it’s the bathroom. On the door at the end is your room she figures out, peeking her head inside. Not many personal items have been set up yet, save for a few photos, a PC, and a vanity mirror. She closes the door then peeks into the right room.  

“What the…”, Gabby mutters to herself. The room was smaller than the main bedroom, probably an office. You'd converted it into a spare bedroom. Gabby’s comment was directed towards the bunk bed she saw set up, with the little futon couch. Everything was kind of cramped together, but was WAY more than she expected from you. Assuming she’ll just see more of it later, she closes the door and heads back out to meet with the two of you.  

She almost walks past the dining room table when a notepad with little scribbles catches her attention, pulling her back to look. Not disturb it she leans over the table, propping her weight on her elbows and takes another sip from her drink. Looking at the full thing almost makes her spit out that sip she just took, slapping a hand to her mouth as snorts and snickers spill out.  

 _“Is that fuckin’ Guzma?? Was she_ _doodlin_ _’ the Boss? This looks like the goo-goo crush shit I used to do in elementary school.”_ Gabby grins and pulls her phone out, snapping a quick pic and setting up a text message.  _“Sorry Primm but this is WAY too funny to not do anything about…”_  

 **To:** **Bossman**  

 _lmao_ _yo_ _guz_ _look at dis_ _im_ _dyin_ _rn_ _primm_ _funny AF_  

 _IMG4782.jpg Sent!_  

Gabby goes to slip her phone back in her pocket when she gets a notification, looking back at the screen. 

 **Bossman** **:**  

 _????? WHAT_  

His reply makes Gabby crack up; she can only picture what he's doing right now. Taking another sip, she sends him a few "cry laughing" and “OK” hand sign emoji as she puts her phone back, not paying attention to the other five “bloop” notifications she gets after. She heads back out to where you two are.  

 

\--- 

 

You turn around when you hear Gabby come though the back door, flashing a smile at her. “Hey!”  

She smiles back though much more deviously. You raise a brow but she waves you off. “Nothin, just had a funny though.” You nod your head accepting the (wrong) answer, looking back at the Pokémon.  

“So, what were you two doing on Akala Island anyways?”, you ask out of curiosity. The two teems hold eye contact, then look to you.  

“We wanted t’ see what the place was like.” Troy says, though his tone doesn’t really convince you. Looking at the two of them you sigh.  

"Were you trying to steal Pokémon?" You ask, a tinge of disappointment laced in. Troy scowls, crossing his arms.  

"Hey!! For yer information not this time, we tried catching 'em!!"  

"Did it work?", you ask quietly.  

"...No", he replies, "but we will! Eventually..." His anger fades into disappointment in himself. You regret asking, standing up and cracking your back.  

"Ahhh...look, forget I asked. Let's head in, it's getting late anyways. We can try making dinner if you two wanna stay the night." The teens look at each other and grin. Quickly Troy picks himself up and calls over his Pokémon, heading inside. Gabby follows suit, Haunter deciding to stay out in the backyard for now. You don't imagine he'd have an issue getting back in. Your group heads inside after noticing the others head inside.  

 

\-- 

 

A few hours had passed since dinner was made. The three of you decided on some goulash with veggies and meat in the fridge, something you didn't have to put much effort into. While that was cooking you made dinner for your Pokémon, repeating mornings routine. You ended up making some for the other Pokémon joining you tonight, having to search in a cupboard for some nuts you knew you bought to mix in with Rattata's meal. You taught the two teens about how to keep their Pokémon in the best shape they could be, even if out on the road for a while. Explaining why malasadas don't have nutrients for his team to Troy was more of a headache than you thought, but found it useful.  

After dinner it was nearing towards 12, time slipping by from the conversations and more than one servings of food. You showed the two the bedroom where they'd be sleeping, thankfully hearing no complaints from them. They seemed to like it and quickly pile into whatever bed they set their stuff on. The three of you said your "goodnight"s and shut their bedroom door, opening yours and slipping in, closing it behind you. You let out a long sigh, closing your eyes and resting against the door for a moment. There's still no real reason to feel nervous around them. They've proven they respect you (other than teasing you sometimes), though you assume that feeling is because they aren't considered "the good guys". Getting in trouble was the last thing you wanted to plan for.  

You backed off the door and went over to your drawers, picking out some sleepwear. You decided on just a tank top and your underwear, slipping your clothes off from the day. You groan softly taking your bra off, shoulders aching. Replacing it with the thin tank top you shuffle over to your desk, grabbing your phone before sliding into bed, pulling the covers over you. Clicking your phone screen on you see there's a few missed texts from the past two hours sent by... 

 _Oh no._  

 **Guzma:**    
_yo_  

 _are u busy tomorrow_  

 _if u are its cool_  

 _but like if_ _ur_ _not_ _lemme_ _know OK_  

 

There's a 20-minute gap after this one.  

 

 _i_ _got some cool_ _pokemon_ _if u_ _wanna_ _see them_  

 _like super cool, better than cool_  

 _idk if u even got these in_ _kanto_ _or w/e_  

 _that's where_ _ur_ _from right_  

 _maybe u can tell me about it when we hang_  

 _i_ _mean if u want to that is_  

 _lmk_  

 

You read the barrage of messages over once, then twice. Then maybe a third time. Guzma's asking you to hang out? The texts didn't seem "business-y" so was this for pleasure?  

The phrase "pleasure" and "Guzma" meshed badly in your head, heating your face up ablaze. You smoosh your face into the pillow, letting out a quiet, annoyed groan. You admit it, it felt like there was a teeny-tiny, so  _small_ you could barely see it using a magnifying glass...crush. On this goofball. You pull your head out of the pillow and bring a hand to your forehead.  

The crush was mostly based on his physical appearance. He didn't look or act like any other partners you'd been with back home. But something about that made you more intrigued... Honestly, you've barely interacted with the guy. He could be a total creep, but good with the kids and Plumeria.  

...No, you know better. You're just trying to think of reasons to push this feeling down,  _way_  down. Even entertaining the thought of having a (SMALL) crush gave you anxiety trying to approach it. He just seems eager to talk, that's all. It's making you think higher of yourself. He might want to show you his Pokemon or talk shop or have a battle or  _whatever else it could possibly be that's all._  

Your hand slid down covering your eyes, blowing out a big sigh. This is what went wrong with other situations like this. You over-analyzed things and messed them up. You weren't going to do that this time. You lift you hand off your eyes and frown.  

"Shit, I left him on read." 

Fumbling your phone in your hands you read the messages again, then think of what to say. A minute passes by, then another. You didn't want to reply with "yeah sure" or "nah", neither wanting to send out huge wall texts. Thinking, you remember a photo you took during dinner. You pull it up, glancing at the details. 

It was the you, Troy, and Gabby: spoonfuls of soup in your mouths, lips clamped tightly around the spoons, making silly expressions at the camera. Yeah, cute. Good ice breaker. You shoot that over first. 

 

 **You:**  

 _Hey! Sorry I didn't reply, we were eating dinner. Yeah, sure I'd love to! Sounds like fun_ _haha_ _._  

 _When did you want to meet up?_  

 ** _-_** ** _bzzt_** ** _-_**    
 

Well, that was fast. 

 **Guzma:**  

 _sweet. could we meet up in front of_ _po_ _town_  

 _around noon_  

_actually wait make that 3_

_i'll_ _take u where_ _i_ _had in mind after_  

 **You:**  

 _Oh sure!! I can make sure these two get back safely too,_ _haha_ _._  

_I'll see you then. ;)_

 

Oh no. Nooo why did you send a winky-face!!! Ugh that's exactly the opposite of what you wanted to imply. You were used to being playful with friends it just slipped out. You see the message pop up with the dreaded "Read" tick, then a typing bubble pop up... 

 **Guzma:**  

;)

 

You roll over onto your stomach, smooshing your face even harder into the pillow. Maybe if you did this you'd just pass out from oxygen deprivation and forget you did this. Also, what did he mean by "where I had in mind"?? He had a full plan? Your head was swimming, most of it from embarrassment. Rolling back over and sitting up you set the phone on the desk next to you, fluff your pillow and flop back down, turning over on your side. You pull the covers up over your shoulder and squeeze your eyes shut, hoping for a quick trip to sleep... 

 

\--- 

 

 _Large hands desperately gripped onto your_ _s_ _ides_ _,_ _kneading_ _the_ _soft flesh_ _in his_ _palms_ _._ _Sloppy open-mouthed kisses trail down your neck and collarbon_ _e,_ _your breath hitching and mouth gently parting._ _Through dazed vision_ _you see yourself pinned between the wall and his larger_ _figure. H_ _is flat tongue dragging back up to the sweet flesh of your_ _neck, sucking a_ _t the tender skin._ _The move elicits a soft breathless moan, almost too quiet to hear._  

 _He hears you, though._  

 _He parts from your neck, bringing his face inches apart from yours. The silly glasses are nowhere in sight, his white hair in more of a disarray than normal._ _His gaze is_ _heavy on you_ _. L_ _ips_ _parted,_ _his_ _breathing_ _is_ _slow and paced._ _You open your mouth wider,_ _pressing your tongue out to the front, though not_ _enough_ _pass your bottom_ _lip_ _. A_ _n_ _immoral gesture,_ _asking for more. H_ _is eyes widen, bottled-_ _up actions he's wanted_ _to do breaking_ _loose. Your_ _lips_ _crash_ _together_ _,_ _eliciting_ _a moan from both of you._  

 _Your head swirls, taking slight breaths in between_ _pulling away only to_ _get teased_ _back in. The taste of him, the smell, his heat, his very being too much to handle all at once._ _You kick your knee up and lock your calve around his, pulling his lower half into your thigh. He_ _gasps, then groans deeper into the_ _clumsy kiss._ _You reach your hands up and grab his_ _hai_ _r,_ _wanting as much of him as you can physically manage._  

 _He parts the kiss,_ _a thin trail of drool connecting your mouths_ _._ _His hands_ _trail_ _up from your sides to your face, cupping your cheeks gently._ _His voice vibrates in his chest,_ _calling out_ _your name_ _; your real name._ _He says it again, and again…_ _then_ _calls you_ _by your_ _fraudulent name._  

 _“_ _Primm_ _…_ _Primm_ _…”_  

 _\---_  

“Primm!!!”  

Your eyes shoot open, taking in a deep breath and sitting up quickly. Too quickly, you grab your head and wince, looking over to your right. Gabby is standing next to your bed holding your phone, an irritated look on her face.  

“Your alarm has been going off like crazy!! I didn’t wanna bust ya door down but  _shit_  was it getting’ annoying, I had t' turn it off. Sorry if I startled ya...” She puts your phone back on the desk and turns around walking out the door and shutting it behind her.  

You squint and hold your face in both hands, groaning. What the hell was that?! Dragging your hands down your face you groan looking to your phone.  

“ _For fuck sakes…”_ You think to yourself. Picking up the phone you click it on, checking the time.  _“10:20AM. That’s fine…better get u_ _p.”_  

You swing your legs out of bed and stand up, shaking your head.  

“I'm gonna be thinking of that all day now.”  

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey guys! hope you enjoyed this one. a little bit of spice there... ;^) lmao i know there isn't a whole lot of guzma still but that'll be changing.


	7. Bugs?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry for the delay ughh, it's been so busy recently. i'm also not sure what direction that i want to take this fic. i don't wanna rush it or make it corny lmao.   
> i'm open to taking requests for oneshots, so if you're interested in that i can take some! also sorry for any mistakes in this.

Morning didn't go quite as you hoped. Having that dream shook you up, and apparently you slept so well your slept two hours past your alarm. You'd already gotten up, made breakfast for the Pokémon, and the three of you.  Gabby and Troy had risen when they smelled food, shuffling out of the guest room like zombies. You assumed Gabby went back to sleep after she came to turn the alarm off. The three of you ate together, though not much dialogue this time. You can't blame them, you were a mess in the morning at their age. 

Who were you kidding, you're always a mess in the morning. Dealing with it became easier with age.

After cleaning up breakfast the three of you got ready for the day. You retreated back to your room, picking out what you were going to wear. You decided on a pair of black exercise shorts and a red short-sleeved shirt. It was long, could've passed for a dress if you wanted your butt hanging out. You tie a knot to the side, pulling it to where your shorts started. You took a few steps back and looked into the vanity mirror, putting your hands on your hips. Tilting your head to the left you let out a soft huff. Even if you were to try wearing nicer clothes it wouldn't matter. You often weren't happy with what you look like in most clothing. Anyways, there's no reason to. It's just Guzma you're meeting up with.

It's just...Guzma. His name popping into your head makes the tips of your ears tint red, raking your hands through your hair and blowing air out through your nose. Don't let it affect you. 

You walk back over to the vanity and pull out a little stool that's under the desk, sitting in front and pulling some makeup out of the drawers to use. You applied some lotion, then filling in your brows lightly, and adding a tinted lip-balm. You turn your head from left to right. It's about as good as it's going to get. 

Putting the few products you used back where they were you went and packed a little travel bag ready. You don't bother packing anything for battling, just a portable charger and some sunscreen. You found out a week ago sunscreen is necessary here, burning your shoulders and arms while doing yard work.  You grabbed your phone off the desk and slipped it into your bag, heading out to the living room. 

The two teens were finishing their makeup for their uniforms. Gabby was helping Troy fix a smudge he made with his eyeshadow, shaking her head chuckling as she did. Troy had a suspicions blush on his face. You knocked on the wall beside the two, startling them. 

"You guys gonna be ready soon?" 

Troy grabs the hand mirror from Gabby's hand, checking over his eyes. "Yea yea, we're ready."    
He stands up, slinging the small bag he brought over his shoulder. Gabby follows suit, throwing some thumbs up to you. You smile and grab your house key and pokeball belt from the table, clipping the belt on and heading out the door with the two teens in tow. 

\---

You convinced the two (more like strong-armed them) into joining you on the boat over to Ula'ula Island as passengers. Since they didn't put anything on to make them obvious members of Team Skull (other than the hair, but again: punk aesthetic if anyone asked) there wasn't any issue. The tickets for the ride weren't expensive anyways so you didn't mind. Either way it was nice to actually have someone to wait on the boat with than be alone with your thoughts.

After arriving you asked to stop off at a Pokémon Center close to the port before heading to Po Town. Quickly running in you logged into your box where some other Pokémon of yours were held. You searched through until you found the three other Pokémon you wanted to bring. Grabbing the three balls that deposited from the computer terminal and clipping them onto your belt you turned and headed outside, continuing your trip. The two asked who you picked up, but you just smiled and kept your mouth shut. You didn't want them to know before he did. 

The three of you finally made it to the opening of Po Town after some time walking. Pulling your phone out of your bag you checked the clock, 3:15. Oops, just a  _little_  late. You were about to shoot a text to Guzma to say you were here when you saw him...well he wasn't running, but his legs were moving pretty fast. He reached the three of you, stopping himself before bumping into the group. His eyes were on you, flicking his eyes over your physique, quick enough to miss if you blinked. 

You didn't blink. 

"Hey, Primm. Looking...", he trailed off, quickly pulling his eyes off you and turning his direction towards the kids. That was odd. You see Gabby from the corner of your eye, a wide shit-eating grin on her face. 

_Why is..._

   
"Hey guys. Plumeria has somethin' to ask you two, go and see her," he tilted his head down a bit, giving the two a look you couldn't see clearly. "...now." They both grinned and nodded their head, "sure thing boss" spilling from both of them as they took off to the inside of the community, throwing hands in the air to say goodbye to you. You hold up a hand as well, giving a short wave to them. 

Turning your attention to Guzma, you wait a moment to see if he says anything. He only glances at you, catching you looking at him, then looks away again. You clear your throat, raising an eyebrow. 

"So, you wanted to do something?", you ask. He looks back at you and nods. 

"Yeah, somewhere private where we can talk more," he says, then noticing the way your eyes slightly widened at what he said. "Or—I mean, we could do it here too. The "vibe" of th' place made you kinda jumpy last time so..." Your brows knitted together, a small smile coming to you. How thoughtful... 

"No, that sounds fine. I had something to show you anyways, and doing that here might not be the best idea." What you said made him stop for a second, holding eye contact with you. Realizing what you said could be taken another way your smile widened, feeling a load of embarrassment dump itself on your shoulder. You tried laughing to lighten the situation, only getting a short chuckle out of him. 

"Ah...here, just lead me to wherever you wanted." You waved your hands out in front of you, then clasping them together. He nods and looks away, a weird expression on his face. God, he sure was acting awkward around you. Before it was way haughtier and pompous, now it's like he's a middle-schooler around a crush—Oh god don't put that image in your head.

Guzma nods his head in a direction east of the town and starts walking, silently asking you to follow him. You oblige, curious as to where he's taking you. There're areas of flora you end up having to walk through, thankful there isn't anything with thorns at ground level. This lasts for at least 10 minutes, neither of you speaking to each other. There isn't anything that comes to your mind, and assumedly neither does he. You swallow thickly,  _really_  wondering where you're going. The trees around you are getting denser as you go through, the near-constant rainfall helping them grow this thick. Right as when you're about to ask, there's a clearing in the trees up ahead. Guzma quickens his pace, you follow suit not wanting to lag behind. When you emerge you wince, bringing a hand up to cover your eyes from the sun. 

It was a private beach, only a mile long at the max. You turned around to look behind you, seeing the thick trees and plant life behind you acting as a wall. Looking up you see the back end of Po Town, the concrete walls towering high above you. You hadn't noticed it, but trail had lead down an incline. Turning back around, all that you can see is ocean and the little bit of Akala's coast in the distance. You turn towards Guzma, laughing softly. 

"This is nice. When did you realize this was here?" You ask. He brings a hand to the back of his neck, looking out to the ocean. 

"Not long, maybe a few months? Followed the trail when I was takin' a walk. Thought you might like it, more of an open space." He looks back at you, trying to read your face. You smile, his shoulders relaxing when he sees this. 

"I do, though it is unexpected...", you trail off, pushing a bit of sand with the heel of your foot. 

"Unexpected from  _me_?" Guzma's comment catches you off guard. He looks a little irritated by that. You frown and hold a hand up.

"Well, yeah; but it isn't a bad thing. If anything, this makes you seem sweeter than you let on." What you're saying makes you tint pink at the cheeks. His rolls his eyes, chuckling at the compliment.

"Hah! That's hard to believe." He grins and points at you. "So what did you wanna show me?" 

Your eyes light up. "Oh!! That's right, I thought I'd bring some friends for you to meet." His brows raise, remembering something.

"You actually meant what you said before?" With a smile still on your face, you take the three balls off your belt. You thrown the first one out, a large poof of purple taking up your sight. Though…you don’t see its face. You laugh, shaking your head.

“Venonat, turn around!” She hears you and spins around on one foot, antenna bouncing around. The purple bug waffles over to Guzma, looking up at him. He grins, brows angled upwards. Reaching a hand down he let’s Venonat feel his digits with her antenna, then leaning into his hand. He looks up at you, a goofy look plastered on his face. 

“Venonat? It’s acting more like a Rockruff.” He pats her on the head, pulling back. She makes a click and squeeze sound, then turning away from him and walking over to you, sitting in the sand. 

“I was about to say, good thing you didn’t scratch. Venonat oozes poison from its body. Irritating it’s fur can make it come out.” Guzma side eyes his hand, rubbing it on his pants. 

“Good t’know…”

 Chuckling at his reaction you toss another ball out into the sand. A large cicada-like Pokémon releases, it’s wings beating quickly, weaving side to side. “This is Ninjask. I caught him as a Nincada in the Hoenn region a few years ago. It was a huge pain in the ass to train him, but I was eventually able to. If you don’t do it right they’ll just ignore you and scream all day.” You chuckle again at the last part. 

Guzma nods his head, approving of the bug. “I like it's look. How's it in battle?” 

You glance over to Ninjask who is still darting around you, then back to Guzma. “They’re quite fast, so dodging attacks is a highlight of their abilities. They can also withstand some strong hits, their defense is good as well.” Shrugging you hold your arms out and up, bent at the elbow. Ninjask darts over and grabs onto your forearm, perching there. Guzma huffs a laugh out. 

“Not used to seeing people handle bug-types this well.” 

“Didn’t I tell you I’m not afraid of them any more?” You smirk. 

 Ninjask tilts it’s head towards Guzma, detaching from your arm and darting over in his direction. He let’s out a startled yell ducking quickly. Ninjask flies right over him, perching onto a tree where you came from. You break out into a laugh, leaning over. 

“Ahaha! Oh no, who's afraid of bugs now?” 

Guzma pops back up, dusting nothing in particular off his arms. “Shut up.” 

Shaking your head you toss out the final ball. A bright yellow spider with purple accents popping out, crackles of static electricity in the air ringing out. It scuttles in place, getting used to the feeling of sand in its toes. Guzma expression is most in awe over this one, looking its body over. 

“Bug-electric? That’s pretty cool…” 

“Yeah! This is Galvantula. A friend of mine who lives in Unova traded me this guy. He started as Joltik, which is…” you hold your index and thumb out, pulling them apart four inches, “only this big. It’s been discovered as the smallest Pokémon in existence so far. He’s super affectionate.” 

Guzma raises his brows at that, kneeling down to see the spider better. Galvantula takes notice and walks over, shaking a leg every other step to get the sand out of its toes. The two look at each other, a small smile spreading across his face. He pulls a pokeball out of his pocket, tossing it into the sand to release. 

Ariados appears on the sand, immediately noticing Galvantual. You take caution, knowing how some spiders can react to each other. You ready a ball incase something goes wrong. Though to your surprise, Galvantual starts bouncing up and down. Ariados stares at him for a moment, before following suit. 

You chuckle, amused by what’s happening. Guzma looks totally lost. “They’re courting. It seems they like each other.” Guzma glances over to you. 

“You sayin’ my spider's gay?” the question sends you into a harder laugh, doubling over and holding your side. 

“Oh shit, ahahah!! Oh man, no no its not that. They just seem to get along well is all.” You straighten back up and wipe a tear that started form. He crosses his arms and shrugs. 

“Alright. Not that I would really have an issue with it, I’ve just never seen him do this before.” You nod, looking back to the two who seem to be sitting with each other, small clicking sounds coming from either at different pitches. 

Venonat sits up and waddle over to the two spiders, plopping down in front of them. The two spiders don’t pay much mind other than looking over. It’s kind of like they’re all having a conversation. 

Guzma stands up from his squatting position and slips one more ball out of his pocket. “Well, might as well show you my pride and joy…” His words spark interest in you, watching his movements. He throws the ball farther away from the two of you. The figure that appears makes your jaw drop. 

_What the hell is that thing?!_

A massive silver arthropod is before you, easily a foot taller than Guzma (making it almost two feet taller than you). It’s exoskeleton is reminiscent of heavy plated armor. Its entire aura is intimidating. You can tell he’s probably protective of Guzma. The gang leader smirks and looks over to you. 

“This is Golisiopod. I’ve had him since he was a tiny little thing. So, what do you think?” 

“…What do I think?? He’s incredible!! I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a specimen like this!!” You take a few steps forward, throwing caution to the wind over your excitement. Guzma reaches a hand out to stop you, but Golisiopod doesn’t budge, watching you intently. 

The dorky part of you comes out, fawning over the Pokémon physique and stature. You rattle off a million questions at Guzma, him only understanding about five of them. 

“Ah shit, slow down girlie can’t understand ya. You’ll freak him out too, so chill.” You shut up immediately, face heating up red. 

“S-Sorry!”, you take a few steps away from the hulking creature, “I just got so excited. It’s really neat…” 

Guzma chuckles and rubs the back of his neck again. “Told you I had some cool Pokémon you never seen before.” You smile sweetly back at him, eliciting a shy smile from him.

“You were right. I bet they’re super strong too, knowing you.” You glance down at the last three balls on your belt. Guzma gives you a look as you release the rest of them. You reply with a shrug. “It’s a beautiful day, why keep them cooped up?” Arbok, Primeape, and Beedrill appear, taking in all the sights and smells of new Pokémon. You watch everyone interacting, looking out of any signs of a fight. Thankfully there isn’t anything that worries you. 

You look out to the ocean, the water looking so inviting. It's been at least more than a year since you've been in the ocean, and it seems like there wouldn't be any rain today...

An idea pops into your head. It’s kinda risky to try it, but you want to enjoy the day. If it doesn't work, at least you get to have a relaxing swim. Fully committing yourself to the goofy thing you’re about to do, you face him and start taking careful steps away from him backwards, towards the waterline. 

“Do you enjoy swimming?” 

The question nabs his attention, watching you saunter backwards. 

“Uh, yeah. Growing up on an island will do that. Why, what are you thinking of...” You stick your tongue out at him, then grin.

“Race you!” You turn around and take off as fast as you’re able to run in sand, throwing your shoes off a few feet ahead. 

Guzma's jaw drops, hestiant. Quickly slipping his shoes off and throwing his chain and glasses off he runs after you. “Hey I didn’t bring anything to swim in!!” 

You look behind you at him, yelling back. “I didn’t either!!!” Reaching your hands at the bundled fabric of your shirt you lift it up, revealing a sports bra and regular bra underneath. You normally doubled up to prevent any mishaps from happening during travels, some of which have happened to you. For some reason the sports bra doesn’t make you feel as self-conscious in front of people, your brain probably thinking of it as a croptop. You come up on the shoreline, thankful the waves don't seem strong today. You stop a few feet back and peel your shirt off, tossing it to the side. 

Guzma is about to reach you when he sees your exposed stomach and shoulder, face turning beat red and not watching where he’s going. He trips, planting into the sand ahead of him. You cover your mouth and let out a yelp, playfully laughing after. He grimaces and pushes himself up, wiping sand off his face. Looking back up he looks flustered at his fall; something that you admit is cute. 

“Y-You're just gonna strip right here?!” He yells out, getting back onto his feet and jogging over to you. You laugh again, humored by his attitude. 

“Most guys I know would be excited to see someone do this in front of them,” you tease. He looks like he’s about to burn up, rolling his eyes. 

“Well I’m not like most guys,” he states. You were about to reply with a smart-ass comment before he slipped his shirt off and throws it into the sand. 

_Oh no._

_Oh_ _jeeze_ _._

He isn’t jacked by any means, but aesthetically pleasing to the eye. He has more lean muscle than anything, his midsection is smooth as well. Though with further inspection you see a small, soft love handle being squeezed by the waistband of his pants. 

_Fuck he's really cute._

You realize you’ve been staring and snap your eyes back up to his face. He saw what you were doing, a light chuckle bubbling from his throat. 

“I’m gonna have to start charging a fee if you keep staring.” You look away, eyes wide and mouth pursed together. 

Reaching behind your back you pull down your sports bra and unhook your actual bra, pulling it out from under your sports bra and throwing it to the ground, your shoulders already feeling more relaxed. You can see Guzma look away while you do so, surprisingly courteous. You kept assuming things about him that turned out to not be true.

“I could say the same about you.” You reply, sliding your shorts off, revealing feminine boy shorts underneath. Honestly if you were wearing a thong or something fancier you wouldn’t have even done this. Guzma slips his own pants off, leaving him nearly the same as you. 

Both of you take a moment to look at each other, then face-to-face. It’s silent for a moment, the only sound the waves gently rolling onto the shore and the Pokémon near the tree line. You let out a snicker first, then he snorts from your sound. Both of you end up laughing with (or at?) each other, Guzma bringing a hand to his forehead. 

“If all I had to do to get a girl in her underwear is take her to the beach I would’ve done it a lot more as a teenager.” You smile and roll your eyes. 

“Yeah like that would've worked. One-time opportunity here, bud.” You turn around and jog into the water, sighing loudly as the water splashes onto your calves. “Ah, it’s warm!! Come in, you’re already nearly-naked!!” You cup your hand flick it, enticing him to come in. Guzma smirks and run in past you, diving into the deeper water. He surfaces a moment later standing up in hip-height water, trickles of ocean water dripping off his hair; which is already starting to curl from the moisture. 

You walk a bit further into the waters, the area he’s standing in theater comes up to your waist. A sigh escapes you, looking up into the sky. 

“I never would’ve been able to do this back home. Too much work, too much pressure. Not enough time to enjoy myself. At least here I can take time for myself.” You look back to him and smile. “And for friends.” 

Guzma’s mouth parts slightly, then settles into a simper. "I can relate to that...at least, now days I do." He dips his hand into the water, feeling the light current flow through his fingers. "Shit isn't as easy as it used to be back then, when we got Team Skull together. At least now there are people who take me seriously, but..."

You knit your brows together. "Even though I teased you, I take you seriously. Someone would have to be blind to not see how much you do." Guzma smiles, though a bit of sadness is there. 

"I know, I know," he waves you off, laughing a bit. "Enough of that. Why did'ya even wanna jump in the ocean in the first place?" You take a moment to pause. Looking up all you can reply with is a smile. He raises a brow and chuckles again. "Alright then, be that way." 

To be honest you used to do this kind of thing with friends back home during summer. You wanted to re-live that, even if it was only with one person. You missed having friends close-by. Most of your friends had gone off to live in different regions, making it a lot harder to visit them.

Guzma was right here.

You take a few steps away from the taller man, swinging your arm back and pendulum it into the ocean, splashing him with water. He brings his arms up to cover his face, lowering them to eye you down. 

“Oh its fuckin’ on.” He swoops both hands cupped into the water, sending a large splash onto you. Covering your head, you squeal, joy bubbling up and out of you. Most of your upper body got wet, only some of your hair though, a few strands clinging to your face. 

The two of you continue a splash fight for a while, running around each other like children, throwing playful insults at each other about how weak each other is and how they can’t splash that well. This continues until tire each other out, squatting in the water where you were standing. 

The water only comes up to his collarbone, though you doing the same thing almost puts your head underwater. You slide up, balancing on your knees, the waves gently bobbing you around. 

Guzma sighs, closing his eyes. “I haven’t done that in a few years…” You giggle, still feeling a bit hyped up from before. 

“Me too.” A though comes to you. “Hey, how old are you?” 

He opens his eyes. “23. What’s it to you?” You shake your head. 

“Nothing. I just didn’t know. I’m 22 myself.” He nods once, acknowledging what you said. "I thought you'd be older." Guzma laughs, a mock-angry look on his face. 

"What, do I look that tired already?" 

"No, but the makeup doesn't help." 

A large wave comes by after saying this, catching you off guard and pulling you away a few feet from him, head dunking underwater for a just a second. Guzma reacts quickly, reaching out and grabbing your wrist, easily pulling you over to him. The momentum makes you bump into his chest, causing a soundless gasp to come out of you. You look up, locking eyes with each other. His gaze is soft, softer than you could imagine from coming such an intimidating guy. You want to say something to bring ease or humor to the moment, but nothing comes out.

Neither of you move a muscle, the waves only rocking you two back and forth. You hate to admit it, but the warmth of his body doesn't make you want to pull away. You haven't had someone be this close to you in a while like  _this_. Even if it was just so you didn't go under water, his grasp was so delicate. It almost felt like he wanted to pull you in close.

His lids flutter, lips parting ever so slightly. You can feel him leaning slowly down towards your face. Realization sets in to what he's doing, leaving you jarred. Almost succumbing to his movements, thoughts of your dream creep into your mind, snapping you out of the trance you’re in. You abruptly part from him, an unsure gaze in your eye. He’s still holding onto your wrist when you do so, immediately letting go when he feels you tug away. He looks hurt for a moment, covering it up quickly with a sheepish grin.

“Sorry ‘bout that, didn’t think the waves would knock me into you.” He completely over-looks what just happened. You didn’t know if you should be disappointed by this or not. Instead you grin and hold a hand up, waving it. 

“Nah it’s fine, should’ve been keeping steady.” You can see the fraction of relief on his face. You don't know what just happened, or what would've happened if you didn't pull away. 

The thought of it didn't make you anxious, just...too soon. Lifting your hand out of the water you rub your fingers together, frowning.

“I think we’re pruning up,” you say, looking up at the sky, “the sun’s going to set soon as well. I didn’t think we’d be hanging out this long.” You chuckle looking back at him. Guzma pulls his hands out and looks them over too, blowing a raspberry. 

“Guess you’re right.” He wades past you, walking out of the water. You follow after, shaking your hair out with a hand on the way. You’re glad you didn’t bother styling it for the day, it would’ve been totally wrecked. 

When you two get onto dry land you pick up the clothes you left, sorting through them. 

“Do you mind turning around?”, you ask, pulling the strap of your sports bra lightly and snapping back to your skin. His nose flares slightly, immediately turning around at the request. You found his shyness endearing. 

Pulling off the wet bra was a pain, the saltwater making it difficult for the spandex to peel off. Breasts hanging free now you dust any stray sand off your chest and slip the shirt you had before on, untying the knot you had in it. You’d slip your bra on later when your skin dried off. You didn’t really know what to do about you underwear, not really wanting to go commando under your shorts. They were getting uncomfortable to wear though, and you didn’t have much choice. You make quick work of them, not wanting to keep him waiting any longer and slipped your shorts on. You adjusted them and turned around away from Guzma.

“Alright, your turn now.” 

You hear him wordlessly pick up some of his clothing off the ground, shaking the sand off. Hearing the movement and sound of wet clothing against his skin make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up. Scolding yourself you push the thoughts away once again. You hear him grunt lightly, the sand shifting. Silence follows, you carefully turn you head around to see if he’s done. 

The two of you are in the same position, peeking your head over your shoulders to look at the other. Both of you start laughing softly, a bit embarrassed. You ring the water out of your wet clothes and start walking back to the tree line. You don’t hear his footsteps behind you until a few moments later. 

As you come up you’re pleased to see the Pokémon are getting along a lot better than you first though. Maybe it’s because they’re all mostly bug-type, but you see no signs of fighting or territory control. Even Golisopod and Primeape getting along, him sitting on the back of the large cellopod. You laugh at the scene, grabbing the shoes you flung off at the start of the sprint earlier.

“Primeape get off him!!” He looks over to you, hopping off and running over to you. He starts delivering little jabs at your calves, angry you told him to get off. “Ow, ow hey!! Don’t get mad at me, it’s time to go home bud.” He stops punching you, and runs over to the other Pokémon. You’re glad they like each other enough to hang this long. 

Guzma joins you, grabbing the rest of his belongings and putting them on. He calls his Pokémon back to their balls, you doing the same after they all say goodbye in their own ways to each other. 

The two of you leave the beach, climbing back through the thick flora. Once again, the walk is wordless, just keeping your mind on not getting left behind. You feel like something changed between you back there. 

You end up back outside the gates of Po Town, stopping in front of it. Smiling sweetly you bow your head a little in his direction. 

“Thank you for this, it was nice. Unexpected but nice. I hope you liked the Pokémon, and...sorry for dragging you into the ocean…” Guzma chuckles, shrugging.

“No problem. Yeah I did, it was really cool. I’d love to train with them sometime”, he smiles, gaze softening.  “And don’t worry about it. I thought it was refreshing. Can’t think of much else I’d want to do today.” His comment makes you smile. 

“That’s good to hear. I guess I’ll see you later then? Keep me updated on anything you think of.” You go to turn around to start walking away when you feel his hand around your wrist again. Looking back, there’s a near desperate look in his eye. 

“You don’t have to go…there’s space for you to stay the night. You’re logged with saltwater anyways, at least get cleaned up.” Glancing down at his hand and back to him, you can almost sense him wanting to say “please” 

He’s right, you did feel pretty uncomfortable from the water. A hot shower would feel great right about now. And riding back to Akala made you feel tired just thinking about it. 

You slip your wrist from his hold and grab his index finger, giving it a little squeeze before dropping it. “Sure, show me around.” 

Guzma flexes his hand, holding his index his fist. He grins and beckons you to follow him. 

"C'mon, let's get cleaned up."  


End file.
